Full checkered walnuts with the colt medallion from Nutmeg are great. Grippy and comfortable.
but the BEST? Those were grips that Larry Vickers supplied on my Colt. They were handmade by Hogue, and signed on the back. The profile just felt right. Hogue had flattened out the radius in the middle of the grip slightly, before checkering them. When I sent the gun back to Larry for more work, he called as soon as he got the pistol, to see where the grips were. I had put them away for safe keeping, and had a generic set on for the journey.
The best set of grips I've ever purchased were a set of Raasco Dymondwood double diamond 1911 grips. The checkering on it is so fine and perfect that not having a checkered front strap isn't a detriment...the grips make up for it. I didn't know what I had until I tried to buy a few more sets some years later, and Raasco had closed up shop by then. The only things that would be better is if someone replicated these, in Dymondwood, with a full checkered panel instead of a double diamond format...I've always preferred full panel checkering. I've got a handful of old (supposedly) GI full checkered walnut panels which are great, but aren't checkered as sharp or as nicely as the Raasco ones.
I don't know if there's a material out there as good as Dymondwood for grips...I've been off-and-on-again looking for a set similar to what Raasco made but haven't really been able to find something like what I'm looking for.
Good to know, I'll prioritize getting a set soon, before what is presumably new old stock dries up.
Best for me (I can easily palm a basketball)
Best stock grip I have on a metal pistol- SIG P229 Legion SAO.
Best aftermarket grip I have on a metal pistol- Hogue Piranha G10 for P226 SAO Elite.
Best stock polymer pistol grip- HK P30
Pachmayr grips on a Browning Hi Power fit my hands perfectly. Like they're custom made.