I agree that your first dive on new gear shouldn't be a sink or swim situation (pun somewhat intended), but that shouldn't limit people to whatever the shop they trained with carried.
I and my wife got certed last fall and only have a dozen dives each, but we rented gear for our first few and did a bunch of research every time we got home to find out why we didn't like the things we didn't like about the gear we used and find better options.
Also, every time we buy a piece of gear, and I mean everything from fins and masks to BCs and regs, we find a body of water on our way home and try it out. If you find the perfect gear, it should be easy, simple, comfortable, and predictable to use. As fun and relaxing as diving is, it's easy to forget or downplay the fact that this gear is all we have for life support in a hostile environment.
Always start show and easy with new gear until it's second nature to you, you may be blinded, narc'd, or air starved when you have to find your backup reg or ditch weights, or find a spare mask, who knows. If it's right where you expect it and works like you expect it the first try, those seconds could save your life or your buddy's.