Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I have never used the Wilsons, but heard many good things about them. You are correct about the big whip, it hits everything, it gets bent up, but if I had to choose between the 2, I would go with the stainless whip (just a personal perference). Once I made an antenna out of some 1/2" aluminum tubing and i used a smaller piece in the top as a tuning stub. The larger the diameter of the antenna, the greater the bandwidth, but this thing was heavy. I had to actually make a support system to keep it in the air while driving down the road, it would just lay back at a 45 degree angle, but it worked better than any antenna I ever used on the CB band. Those were the good ole days. 
