I know handgun grips are a very personal item (or at least they should be). I've run the gamut on my revolvers from whatever original wood or rubber grips they came with to the rubber Pachmeyers to a number of others. I've gone full circle, a couple of times.
I've long ago settled on wood as my personal preference. I very much dislike rubber and the squishy, "twist in the hand" feeling it gives, especially on any revolver that has a fair amount of recoil. I have found a properly sized, properly shaped, properly fitted wood grip to be superior in every way. They provide a more consistent grip (leading to greater repeatability and accuracy), and they dissipate (rather than "absorb") heavy recoil much better.
My favorites, after trying a wide variety over the early years of my shooting career, are made by the son of a man I was introduced to many years ago. Steve Herrett was kind of an icon of the handgun shooting world at the time, and I had the pleasure of meeting him through a mutual friend. He made me a set of grips for a Model 29 I had at the time, and I've never looked back.
His son Steve Jr. runs the company these days, still making grips under the Herrett brand. I cannot say enough about their products. Most of my double actions, and all of my "serious" double actions, wear his grips. I prefer his "Roper" pattern, named after one Walter Roper, who designed them for S&W many years ago.
The really great thing about Herrett's grips is that he sizes them to
your hand (most folks find the as-issued S&W "Roper" grip to be much too large). You send him a tracing of your hand, along with some measurements (there are instructions on the order form on the website). You can even specify if you want them "small" or "large" relative to your hand size - I have found "standard" to be right for me, but shooting buddies seem to like "small". He keeps your tracing on file, too, so you don't have to keep sending him new ones. He's had mine for at least 30 years now, so all I have to do is call him up and tell him which gun I need a set of grips for and he can make them.
Here are a few of my double actions wearing Herrett's Roper pattern grips:
Here is a Model 19 and Model 29 with the original S&W Roper grips, which I find too large. I also dislike checkering on my handgun grips, so I order my Herrett grips without.
So, yeah, I would highly recommend their grips. Beyond functionality, wood just looks so much better than rubber. Plus, it doesn't snag clothing as much. Lots of advantages, to me at least.