The fact that the level 50 relic is really only useful as a glam is the reason to get it. Not avoid it. No doubt about it, if you are the type of player who wants to speed their way to HW and to level 60, the Lv50 relic will slow you down a good deal. You can very likely get to 60 in the time it takes you to complete it, but hear me out.

It's the glams in this game that have longevity. You may have noticed during the leveling stages how quickly your most up to date gear becomes outdated. Well, this continues post 50. The way I look at it is you get your glam(s), and you essentially level them up by getting the most up to date equipment and then glamour over them. You maintain the LOOK you worked hard for through the glamour system. I am currently working on my Lv50 relic for my SCH, and once I have it, it will be the last weapon glamour I use for this job, each upgrade I get on my way to 60 will be glamoured over with this book. It's a personal preference for me, but I want this look @50, not @60.

Another note is that nothing beats the fully upgraded relic until level 56 I believe. It is iLv 135, and the closest to that is the augmented ironworks arms which is iLv130. There are iLv115 @ lv 50, and iLv125 @52 that are very cheap purchases off of the MB if you choose to go with the easy road to HW.