I agree with you. Good kit is very important for protection.
However, I don't like playing the odds by hoping my kit alone will protect me. I am determined to do (learn) as much as possible to prevent me from being in an accident in the first place.
So instead of paying large sums of money for the most expensive protective kit, I choose to spend some on advanced training (bikesafe, IAM/ROSPA etc) and a reasonable amount on protective kit.
the best way to survive an accident is to not be in it :-)
But I guess if you are caught up in an accident, having good protective kit increases your chances of getting up and riding again.
How is your ROSPA training going?
