Second- or higher-level gear? (4-2-5)
I believe the answer is:
hand-me-downs
'higher-level gear?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'second-or' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'second' could be 's' (common abbreviation) and 's' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'handmedown' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
(Another definition for hand-me-downs that I've seen is " Outgrown clothes, passed on".)