Koolstop are good. I use the Eagle 2 (Eagle Claw) salmon pads on my bike with cantilever brakes. But the slightly lower priced Jagwire black long, thin pads curved to fit the rim work just as well in mixed conditions. Main advantage to the Koolstop Eagle 2 and similar pads with the wedge end is they're easy to toe-in to reduce squealing. The Jagwire pad was a bit fussier to setup without squealing.
Ditto the replaceable inserts in cartridge type brakes. I have those inserts in Koolstop and Shimano brands. Both seem to work equally well.
Rim surface is a big factor too. Some of my older wheelsets use those 1980s hard anodized, low profile lightweight rims that are sorta grayish in color (Araya CTL-370, Wolber Super Champion Alpines). Those anodized surfaces are slick and demand better pads. The plain aluminum rims aren't as fussy.