Actually, a lot of rj guys use David Clark's. Some use clarity aloft, and some use the bose x. It really depends in the airplane what is best, as some are louder than others. The crj for example is very quiet. I often forget to turn the ANR on, and it's not a huge difference since the engines are so far away.

As far as luggage, most use either the luggageworks stealth 22" bag, or something from travel pro. There are a few other decent brands out there, but most off the shelf suitcases will disintegrate in a few months. You didn't mention who you're working for, but I'm sure your carrier offers some sort of discount on at least the LW bags. If you decide to go with LW, don't get the 26", get the 22". Two of those is almost exactly the capacity of the crj7/9 bin. I've never flown a 200, so I'm not 100% if those bins are the same size.

Some guys don't bring a suitcase on certain trips, however you can always get reassigned/jra'd and get stuck with a last minute overnight, so it's a good policy to always bring your suitcase.

One thing you may want to pick up is a 3-1-1 travel bottle set for shower gel/shampoo/etc. If your carrier allows the use of iPads for charts, look into portable external batteries. For that, I use the mycharge hub 9000 ($80 on ebay). It'll save you from ever having a dead phone/ipad.

As for pilot shirts, check out acutaboveuniforms.com. Either their fitted or tapered shirts fit WAY better than most other brands, and don't have several handfuls of extra material in the back. Get a pair of comfortable shoes that don't contain any metal, it will save you from needing to remove them when going through the magnetometer at security.


Otherwise:
-be nice to gate agents. They can sometimes work magic, and they will remember you.

-if you non rev somewhere, introduce your self to the crew and be polite. If you're trying for the jumpseat, remember that you're REQUESTING the jumpseat. If you're a jerk, they can always tell you to take a hike.

-don't take what people say on APC too seriously, there are trolls about. We all hold more or less the same qualifications and do the same job, don't look down on someone because they work for someone else based on Internet reputation.

-don't let the negative people you fly with get you down. Being a regional pilot is a grind, especially for he first few years. You WILL get bumped off of flights/jump seats, you WILL divert, and everything else you can imagine probably will happen. Just know that hopefully your investment will pay off some day, and keep your head up. A good attitude is contagious.

Lastly, good luck!