Unless there's a penalty for this (which wasn't mentioned), why wouldn't everyone immediately select the option to scavenge more gear?
Scavenging gear costs steel, so it's limited in that sense. I believe.
when you scavenge gear, you need to pay steel.
also you only get items for your level, so a level 1 hero can only get level 1 loot, thats why its better to level up and tehn scavange