The one thing you can't protect against though... cracked/shattered canopy. If someone is shooting at you way out in the boonies make sure they are shooting at the bottom of your ship.
A true explorer packs weapons that don't need munitions... ...it's a LONG road back to get some. Oh, and the automated repair thingy (what's it called again?), is a must -it runs out of shots though, in a very long run, but one likely learns by then how to avoid being shot at at all.
A true Explore ripp-off the Weapons to get more range.... ... and also accelerate/prepare to jump if he get interdicted ... If I running now away, maybe win another Day.....
In My opinion is Autorepair more helpfull for an Explorer than Shields ....