You can upkeep an average of 35K worth of gear and break even, assuming you win as many matches as you lose.
The best armor is supposed to be more rare, otherwise it would be the only armor.
I can afford to run around in very good armor, such as the Black Coat of Plates, and it takes quite a few arrows to kill me, and I can even withstand a throwing javelin or jarid unless a PT10+ character nailed me correctly, which is rare.
I die much more often in melee.