It seems kind of a waste that once you gain access to the better armor and weapons the old ones just kind of sit there, unused. I think there should be an incentive to use them after they've leveled up fully- perhaps extra XP after each match that you use them- a trade off for playing with weaker gear. This could help slighlty with balancing issues as well.
Another idea is to fully level up the weaker gear for a token reward.
