This mat protects the carpet and makes it easier to roll when seated. After sitting for a while it dimples under the castors and would be better if it were stiffer. That being said it is significantly better than nothing but carpet.
the pad thickness is thiner than my previous pad and hence allows the coaster wheels to sink into the surface making it difficult to move the chair. was not obvious when I purchased it . It appeared to be the same thickness and hardness. The store did not have options as shown online for better pads.
I bought this for my husband's office chair as he had worn a path down on the carpet pile and I had to shampoo it a lot! This mat works great for our office on 1/4" pile carpet easily with no slippage.
I have high pile carpet and I'm not a small person....so the chair mat needed to be thick for both reasons. This one works well. Whatever denting I've put into it seems to disappear after an hour of not being used. The bigger size is useful too.
It is good for being over carpet but when I sit in my chair it sinks into the plastic leaving prints. I only am 190 lbs. a male. So. It’s not smooth. Those marks stay there. It’s like to memory foam like. Lol