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What is the best vertical antenna for a Mesh or LoRa radio?

From the beginning of my tenure with Mesh and LoRa, I have used the RAK4631/RAK19007 combination to homebrew my own hand-held and stand-alone Node devices. Since signal quality is important to LoRa, the antenna is something within my control that I can change to make the systems more effective. I found the plethora of antennas available daunting with wide ranges in advertised performance metrics and prices. I set out to determine which antenna provides the most bang for the buck.

Summary: The TX915-JKD-20, available from Amazon, proved to be the best performer at the best price. Figure 1 shows the tabular summary of the antennas tested.

At MeshEnvy, our mission has always been clear. We want to ensure that anyone, anywhere in Nevada, can stay connected. While the LoRa (Long Range) hardware standards provide a powerful foundation for this vision, the software protocols that drive that hardware are just as critical. After extensive testing and real-world experience, we are officially migrating our primary deployment strategy from Meshtastic to MeshCore.

If you hang around the off-grid tech space long enough, the words start to bleed together. Mesh, LoRa, Off-Grid, Decentralized. We use them like they're synonyms, but if we're being honest with ourselves, they aren't.

Lately, I've been thinking about what we're actually trying to build here. Is it just a hobbyist version of the cellular network, or is it something fundamentally different?