Don't allow yourself to be confused, simplicity is always the key. I've put up a fair few routes in Derbyshire and was mainly prevalent in the early eighties, I've climbed alongside Ron Fawcett, Jerry Moffatt, Andy Politt even Steve bancroft! I was there when he managed London wall. Climbing IS personal, at least to me. I went climbing to get some pent up aggression out as my childhood was pretty traumatic and it was this anger that got me to the higher levels - 6b and the like. The challenge is what mainly pushes us but the one thing I tried to do was ignore the grading system and work out the route/s for myself as with John Allen on the Great Arete at Millstone. Being 54yrs old now I haven't climbed for many years but still go out into Derbyshire to watch all those white chalk marks litter the rock. It was brilliant in the 80's as new innovations were just coming out, such the the friend or 'cam' as I think it's called now. Abseil devices other than the figure 8 and the good old stitch plate were also being rolled out. I kept my gear simple, a load of small/medium nuts,a few larger one's in case we decided to climb a dream of white horses at Llandudno :) a lovely climb that. It's always best to work things out for yourself, a look at an XS 5c/6a such as Downhill racer on Froggatt Edge and you know instinctively that there is little to no protection with small, finger crunching moves. In the end it's all up to you, either go and enjoy yourself and push those personal limits or become 'hip' and wear expensive gear and talk climbing til the cows come home, like many today. Most importantly - have fun and build upon your own skillset.