I think what was meant was that maybe the guy might be perceived to have been at fault by his parents and they deliberately want him to go without the gear for a while as a lesson; and that all this stuff arriving from some internet buddies may be counterproductive.
It is a fair point that I had not considered, and in the absense of any info to the contrary we do not know. Maybe they know? If so, no probs but I would not want to get the poor kid into any more trouble.