Rebuy Strategy Discussion I had with a friend

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

My friend said he read a long time ago on the MTT forums that somebody argued you should come out of the rebuy tournament (talking about the big stars $11 Rebuys) with 25k chips or more to give yourself the best shot of going deep. I have argued that to get to 25k you either need to gamble it up a lot or have the deck slap you upside the face. Obviously one doesn't cost much, but I think it's fair to say that the other will cost $100 + in rebuys on average (correct me if this assumption is wrong).

Now, I wouldn't say I play it "safe" in the rebuy period, but I'm not pushing with suited connectors HU, etc. If a table is extra loose during the rebuy period, I'll open up, but generally I make it out of the rebuy with 8-12k (after the add-on).

He says the added equity of having a nice stack makes up for the money you pay before the rebuy, and I argued unless you're an exceptional post-flop player (and while I think I am good, I'm certainly not extraordinary) the 15k chips don't do enough for you.

I'm just wondering what everybody else thinks? I'm rather new to tournies and rebuys in particular, so forgive me if my view is totally wrong or if this has been discussed before.