Alright, so I have done a little research and am still a little confused.  What is the Pmag of the 1911 world?  The be all end all magazine so to speak.  I have read of wilson 47d feedlips cracking as well as accounts of their short spring life and have heard people speak of them having "follwer problems" whatever that may be.  

I hear their ETM has addressed all these issues and on top of that has mad the tube longer so that it is more of a true 8 rounder rather than 8 rounds in a 7 round body.  

The tripp cobras have gotten good reviews but I have heard of feedlips cracking on them as well, and that turns me off.  

The mec gars(these ones) are simply just not that talked about but are definately tempting, especially for that price.

What is my best bet??  Im thinking the ETMs are, but chime in anyways. Thanks

The only thing I would add to your comments is that Tripp Cobra magazines are now out in an updated version.  I never had trouble with any of the original versions I own, so I'm not really sure what improvements have been designed into the newer version.

This has been debated a lot on the 1911 forums.  There are issues with follower design, dimpled vs undimpled followers tapered vs. untapered feed lips, 7 round vs 8 rd,  The 8 rd mags with extended tubes that are purposely designed to handle the extra round realiably etc.  Add in Chip McCormick mags and Ed Brown mags into the mix and there are opinions all over the place.  The 2nd generation of Tripp cobramags in the 8 round platform does seem to have a pretty good reputation overall.  There are some complaints that the new Wilson ETM still uses weaker springs than Tripp, and did not change the follower to a better design from the model 47.  All they did was extend the mag tube a little form the 47.  If you want a flush fitting standard 7 round mag, then Metalform has a pretty good rep.  Go the the 1911 forums and do a search.

Cobra mags definitely. Then get the super 7 upgrade kits for your Wilson,stainless steel Nighthawk ,and Chip McCormick mags and you will probably never have another single magazine related issue ever. It will make your 8 round mags become 7 rounders but they will be wonderful. I talked to Virgil Tripp himself and said you can leave this mags loaded forever and they will work.I have had  zero mag issues in the last 6 months since I got the Tripp mags and their  super 7 upgrade kits. These mags are operating out of 2 Nighthawks and a Wilson Combat custom built Springfied Armory.

Ive done some more research and it does seem like Gen. II cobras are the way to go.  But as far as upgrading my existing mags, does anybody have the super 7 kits in CMC shooting star mags?? If so, how is that working out?

I carry both the ETM's and the 47's on duty and have not had any problems with either mag. I have had two 47's loaded for about 1 1/2 years and they still function perfect.

I have had 100% reliability with my 8 and 10 round Tripp mags.  If you ever have a problem Virgil will make it right.

a) Yes, the springs are not that sturdy in Wilsons.  They are Wolff brand and just don't hold up for very long or really start out that strong to begin with.

b) The follower has two flaws 1) no dimple for last round control, and 2) plastic slide stop shelf that is too narrow and does not always catch the slide stop stud and it also wears out prematurely.  The Wilson has a groove in the follower to try to control the round in lieu of the dimple, but it does not work as well.

Tripp fixes this with a steel insert so it's steel on steel, not plastic-on-steel like in the Wilson.  Lots of people will rant about plastic/polymer or MIM parts on guns, then they go stick Wilson magazines in their .45. Go figure...

Personally I do nor like extended magazines sticking out past the grip frame.  I use Colt branded magazines, 7 rounders, and they run 100% in all of my .45s (Caspians, Colts, a Sistema/Colt and a Norinco) and do so with all ammo types (200 LSWC up to 230 HP).  I want all of my magazines to work in all of my guns with all of my ammo.  Only Colt (and older Colt GI contract) magazines do that for me.   Wilsons only work in about 1/2 the guns.  If you wanted to buy 8 round magazines and don't mind them sticking out, go Tripp.  If you want flush fit, go 7 rounds and go Colt.  If one of those two gives you problems, you are better off looking for the problem in your gun, not in your magazine.

Here's a pic of a Wilson upgrade kit in a SA (Metalform, a Colt OEM supplier) magazine.  The stock SA magazine worked fine in all of my guns (it is basically a colt OEM magazine).  After inserting the Wilson spring/follower, it only worked in one of the three I tested, so I quit testing at that point as it was no longer of interest to me.  As you can see, the Wilson follower has a plastic shelf to actuate the steel slide stop, and it doesn't fit the standard .45 magazine tube body very well - leaving a large gap and letting it slip past the slide stop on most guns.  I find this happens with Tripp followers, sometimes, too, and the Super7 kits don't work in all quality magazines, just some of them.

Two of my ETMs appeared to go tits-up last week; likely the springs are already worn out. After switching to my back-up mags (an assortment of 47's, 47Ds, and cheapo ACT-MAGs), the gun was running fine again, so I am attributing the repeated FTFs to the mags. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to get back to the range since I got new springs for the ETMs, so I can't say for sure quite yet.