I had an older version of this chair mat that lasted about 10 years until it finally cracked where one of my wheels sat. This new mat is a ridiculous price but I got it on a huge sale that was online only not through the store. It was pretty close to the same as the old one after seeing it in the store so I ordered it. It came delivered flat not rolled up which was very nice. I've only had it about a week but it's already getting an impression where the wheels sit which leads me to believe it's not going to last as long. You can tell from feeling it that it's not as thick even though I measured my carpet and pad and was assured this was the correct one to buy. Still it's nice and smooth and doesn't move at all on the carpet. It's very clear so the carpet shows through the mat. I'd recommend it if you see the sale price but not for the full retail.
When the carpet is thick you need heavy gauge plastic to avoid tearing up the carpet and the padding. I have purchased 2 of these (1 for each home office) and they work great. Easy for the chair to move on. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 stars is that the pad shifts after a few days and it's heavy and bulky to move back in place. But that's a small price to pay for protecting my carpets.
Since I wore a hole in our old carpet I decided with new carpet a chair mat was a good idea. I would have preferred a heavier mat but didn't want to spend more money. This one will save the carpet but I've already made dents in it where I usually sit which means when I move the chair it wants to fall back into place. I'm still happy I bought this one as this is a problem I can deal with better than hole-y carpet!