What are the characteristics of a good grip

By "grip", I am referring to the physical aspects of the pistol which is why I cleverly posted this in the equipment section rather than the technique section.   

My interest is specific to a 1911 but there may be characteristics which carry over from other types.

I find the usual side panels to be too thin. The Hogue overmolded rubber grip with finger grooves fits my hand really well. It may be a bit too compliant?

The pistol I am shooting now has panels that are not swelled so I need to do something else. I wear a large glove, mostly due to long fingers rather than a particularly wide hand. It also has some pretty aggressive tape of which I am not overly fond.

Before the "It depends on what you like", "try different stuff", LOL, the point of my question is to find out what choices/considerations there are and why I might want or not want something.

Thanks!

SteveJewels"The pistol I am shooting now has panels that are not swelled so I need to do something else."





https://www.cm-machine.com/1911-Stock-Spacers_c_11.html

I made my own, which are .090" thick and then use Sharkskin grip panels. Large hands and long fingers here too. An extended trigger shoe helped as well.

This was prior to the Sharkskin panels.

Not slippery. Not squishy. Complete in-hand contact (no air pockets under the palm). 1911-specific: supports and protects the plunger tube. Slab-specific: comfortable when gripped hard in all weather. Anatomic grips are their own beast, because they must fit correctly.

Grip (equipment) considerations for me comes down to two things.  1) feels comfortable/natural in my hand and 2) when I raise the pistol to eye level the sights or dot align to my eye consistently.

I found most 1911 slab side grips too small and no matter which grip (technique) I tried (Zins, Tips-on-Tips-Off etc.) the sights were not aligned to my eye unless I moved my hand into an uncomfortable position.

I ended up trying a pair of Larry Davidson's Monkey Grips which are slightly larger slab slide grips and they helped.  I've attached a pic to show the difference between them and sharkskins.

In my case, the grips (equipment) weren't enough and I also had to change to an arched mainspring housing and add one of Frank's trigger shoes to get the pistol to come up to eye level with the sights aligned to my eye using a grip (technique) that was comfortable for me.

A lot of good information there. Thanks!

" when I raise the pistol to eye level the sights or dot align to my eye consistently." I had not thought of that.

Steve has it on point. I use Nill-Griffe and Dick Horton grips because when
I pick up the pistol, the grip, i.e how one holds the pistol is pretty much 
decided-that and having a full hand that feels like the pistol is part of my
arm.