Advice like that provided in the article rubs me the wrong way since it both throws away nuance and deters people who are even mildly price sensitive. On the one hand they suggest that the equipment facilitates learning, on the other hand they are suggesting a $400 soldering iron. That iron will make things easier if you already know what your doing. It isn't going to protect the learner from destroying their first tip, even though the tip will cost as much as a cheap iron. It isn't going to protect the learner from applying heat improperly or for too long because, at best, the learner will only have book learning to guide their use.
But it isn't all about deterring price conscious learners, there is also the issue of encouraging them to succumb to temptation. I mean, who doesn't want a good oscilloscope? Oscilloscopes are awesome. That said, a logic analyzer is going to be more useful if you're working with digital circuits, even once you factor in the sophisticated triggering and (limited) decoding abilities of modern models. They also require a fair amount of experience before purchase or you will end up with one that does not meet your needs (unless you have extremely deep pockets).