Hey I'm pretty new to climbing as well but i will try to help you out. I have a lot of gear at work but I'm starting to get some jobs on the side so I'm looking into getting my own gear. I climb DdRT, never tried the single rope technique like it sounds like you are thinking about. I haven't had an opportunity to try a lot of gear out but I will tell you what I like and why.
Spurs: I use regular steel buckingham spurs with L pads. With regular work boots they are not that comfortable but since its cold out I climb in tall muck boots and the thick neoprene upper part of the boots are super comfortable (as far as spurs go). For my personal pair I will get cast aluminum pads though because everyone says they are the best comfort wise.
Harness: Petzl Sequoia, if you can spare the money this thing is awesome. Super light and super adjustable. Features a great webbing bridge that lets you really move around the tree well and has all the attachment points for tools you could want. Another cheap option that I am going for for my personal harness is the New Tribe Tengu, Half the price, same light weight and most of the same convenient features. I just use the saddle, I havent had a need for the full harness only reason why you would need one is if you wanted a chest ascender or something and I dont get that fancy.
Lanyard: I always climb with two, both setup with rope grabs and swivel snaps. I use a 12' blaze regular rope lanyard and a 1/2" steel core flipline also 12'. Two lanyards really gives me a lot of ways to secure my self in a good working position, also good for ALT (alternating lanyard technique), and necessary for two points of connection when using a chainsaw while spur climbing (i always keep my steel core one nearest to the saw) that way if I accidentally cut one or if it slips off I have a backup to save my life.
Rope: I climb with 7/16" yale Blaze rope 150' of it. Dont know much about blue streak or any other ropes but Blaze is cheap, lightweight, easy to handle, and highly visible. Dont know how it would be for SRT but it works good for double rope technique. Also do yourself a favor and get a cambium saver or false crotch device. real cheap way to double the life of your rope.
Rigging: I dont do much rigging so i dont have much equipment. 150' of 9/16" stable braid, a 3 ton pulley attached to a 6000LB nylon sling (Both 12.99 at harbor freight, I havent and wouldnt try to lower anything more than 200-300 LBS with this setup) It works for my needs but im sure someone could suggest a better setup. I'm trying to get a port-a-wrap as a lowering device but so far I have gotten by using a hitch or brush guard or roll cage of some piece of heavy equipment parked nearby to wrap the rigging line on.
Carabiners: I use mostly Petzl AMD Tri-Acts and I use a pear shaped Kong HMS auto block for my friction hitch and micro pulley.
As far as ascenders and descenders go, i dont use them so i couldnt tell you. I use an 8mm bee line cord tied into a split tail. I tie a friction hitch with that around my climbing line and add a micro pulley for slack tending and use that to ascend and descend and it works like a charm for me.
Also don't forget about the throwbags and throw line. Best setup? Wesspur.com (where I recommend buying all this stuff.) has a kit for about 60 bucks that includes two throwbags (12 and 14oz but they would probably let you choose) 180' of zing-it throwline by samson ropes (i got the 1.75mm one) and a big collapsible cube that you can store everything in (I think these things are essential, they will save you at least 5-10 minutes on every job, just flake the throwline in the cube when your done, toss in the throwweights, fold it up and your done.) If you are only climbing trees less than 70-80 feet tall i recommend you practice and master the "cradle toss" method of tossing your throwline. If you need to get your rope higher than that it is worth it to get the Big Shot, essentially a giant slingshot on a stick that allows you to rocket your throwbag 100'+ with ease.
Ok I hope I answered your questions and didnt insult your intellegence and/or overwhelm you with my opinions but like I said im going thru the same gear selection process and it would be cool to see what other people are using.
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