snip
P.S. A 1/4 wave whip of thicker more conductive material can't be beat
by a shorter antenna, but my comment was about the common 102" SS
whip.

Using Mmana to simulate antennas;

The difference between a 5' and a 8' copper antenna is 0.3 dB

The difference between a 8' copper and 8' stainless steel antenna is
0.6 dB

(by the book) a 5' copper antenna will beat a 8' stainless antenna.

You hit the nail on the head.

Many/most just assume that a 1/4 wave antenna will beat a shorter
antenna. They look no further. They read the theory and take the
theory as the way things work in the real world. Simple theory isn't
always realized in the real world. A quarter wave will only beat a
shorter antenna if all the antenna variables are the same except for
the length.

In the real world our 1/4 wave antenna is a thin SS whip. It can
not beat a inch thick 1/4 wave copper antenna. It can't even beat
some properly designed 5 foot antennas.