Monk Gearing Help

[FatMagic]

Hey all -

I've been playing a Monk primarily the last few days, and have a question about gearing at the early to mid-levels.

Currently I'm stacking items that have HP on them, and maybe a stat or two that comes along with it. Is the right path to go for a monk at level 8 and up? Or should I be focusing on STA/STR/DEX? I've been forgoing most of these stats in favor of HP (which I find is helpful).

For example, I have two of these rings on currently:

Obsidian Ring
AC: 3
DEX: +3
HP: +10

But I've been looking at getting the Clawed Knuckle Ring instead which has these stats:

Clawed Knuckle-Ring
HP: +20

Should I forgo the AC & DEX for the additional +20 HP (considering two rings)?

-----------

And another question -- I can't seem to find a good Robe/Chest piece to wear for my monk. Nothing seems to look good. Currently i'm wearing Mesh for my chestpiece, but would like to find something with stats on it (HP!) -- and that is cheap -- say 50pp-ish.

And I can't find any bracers to wear that would have some stats either. Currently I don't have any bracers at all. Again would be nice to find some bracers that are around 25-50pp, and have some stats.

Any suggestions?

Thanks all!