Didn't want to start a thread for this, but in case some people haven't tried this, you can leave armor and weapons behind (I leave tham at Mardaneus' house), and they are there for the game. Early on I came across some wicked swords and shieds that were just too much to lug around waiting to be able to use them, so I saved and tried it. I only tried this with Mardaneus, but the stuff is always there in the corner I left it in.
For me it was a shield with 350 armour and the Singing Blade that I wasn't ready for. I've read some people complaining about the random loot generator...well if you find something awesome and you can't use it yet, try what I did.
And sorry if this is an obvious thing, but I've played other games that don't let you do this.
