Hi Mike7,
Personally I think that PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) is the single most important part of a mattress purchase but these can be “felt” with testing or personal experience. Having a good sense of the likely durability of a mattress based on the quality of the materials can’t be felt in a showroom or through personal experience so this is the part of a mattress purchase that most consumers know the least about and in general need the most help with.
A mattress that is the highest quality in the world but that isn’'t suitable in terms of PPP would have little value for that person that purchased it and a mattress that is absolutely “perfect” in terms of PPP but doesn’t lost more than a few months or a year or two would have very little value as well.
I think that PPP and durability and the other parts of each person’s personal value equation all go hand in hand as part of an informed purchase.
Gel foams certainly have an effect but the degree and length of the cooling effect of gel foams would depend on the percentage and properties of the gel but their cooling benefits tend to be temporary. Of the three main temperature regulating “technologies” (thermal conduction, phase change, and ventilation / moisture wicking) … the first two tend to be more temporary while ventilation and moisture wicking work with the natural cooling mechanisms of the body and are effective throughout the night.
This can certainly be an effective strategy and design for a sleeping system. The most reliable way to do this is to test the specific combination together because choosing the most suitable topper for a particular mattress can sometimes be as tricky as choosing a mattress. The mattress and topper work together and affect each other in terms of PPP. As a general rule natural fibers will be more cooling than synthetic fibers because they tend to wick and absorb moisture more effectively
Phoenix