"gear whore" is not applicable to most of the evils in that range.

The only time I have had good gear around those levels I lost it 30 minutes later. Since I've killed more than half of the evils in that range I can vouch that many of them don't have good gear either. A couple did but I was unable to loot them for one reason or another. Most had fairly ordinary gear.

"never heroes" is an ignorant comment. I could sit at those levels for 250 hours and still play 300 hours at hero. In my case, I do expect to spend around 250 hours total getting to hero. Not because I can't hero. Not because I am afraid of heroing. Just because I am doing stuff as I work my way through the levels.

Also, I find being a hero can get quite boring after 100-200 hours of it. Therefore I am making a concious effort to spread my life over a range of levels. This actually tests my ability more, not less, because I have to fight with a variety of skillsets for an extended time. You said your character wasn't suited to fighting at those levels. I like to try to make it work anyway. Even if I fail I'll know that I tested myself in the process.