Lube for an M1911 pistol
Rem Oil lubes fine but seems to wear out quickly.
I generally use grease on the slides of my auto pistols. Lubriplate, TW-25B, Brian Enos Slide Glide, Shooter's Choice Red Grease, MD7, I've used all of them with good success.
I use grease on a gun that will be carried for at least a couple of weeks before being shot & recleaned, which applies to my duty gun for work and whichever off duty auto is in the rotation for this quarter. I haven't noticed a problem with grease in really cold weather, but if it's that cold I'm probably not out on the range for more than 90 minutes anyway.
On guns that will be shot more frequently than that, I usually use oil. I have most recently been using Slip 2000 EWL (extreme weapons lubricant) and also 10-8 Performance Lube.
For regular lube I've used Triflow, Triflon, Break Free CLP, GI LSA, Militec, FP-101, Weapon Shield, Prolix, Snake Oil, Rem Oil, Gun Butter, Machine Gunner's Lube, Marvel Mystery Oil, etc. and hadn't had any problems with those, either. STP and Marvel Mystery Oil works pretty well. My mechanic uses Mobil One as a lube on his rifles and is very happy with it.
Some shooters recommend the procedure of using a "floater" (thin bead) of oil atop the grease before going to the range for a lengthy practice session. I've experimented with that a little bit but I suspect that getting that complicated may be over thinking the issue a little bit . . .
25 years ago I shot on the State ARNG pistol team (to be honest, I was 2nd alternate) with a couple of old timers who made their own "Red Oil". If they liked you, they'd put a little bit on the slide rails of your M1911. It was a big honor. "Red Oil" was a mix of STP, Marvel Mystery Oil, Breakfree or Triflow, and something else that I don't remember anymore.
Seemed to lubricate okay. Tended to get all over the lenses of your shooting glasses because it was kind of thin
There are about a bazillion different products out there, and I've used most of them and they pretty much all worked well. Lube for different applications does indeed have a different formula and additive package. Some guys get all worked up because they don't want to spend the money for a weapon specific lubrication product, and others like to experiment and make their own cleaners ("Ed's Red") or lubricants. There has been many discussions about lubrication on this forum in the past.