I put a very thick, shag rug under my desk, and my old, thin plastic chair mat was cracked and at end of life. My chair wheels kept sinking through the cracks. I bought this new one after scouring the sites and not finding too many that claimed to work on thick carpet. It's working great so far. It feels thicker than my old mat, but not by a ton. Somehow though, the quality is just so much better. It's letting my chair glide with ease. People are not exaggerating though when they say it's hard too flatten when you first get it. I did manage it myself, but it was a workout. I waited the 24+ hours, and then I slowly added weights. After another day it was ready. Between dumbbells and 10 lb plates, I used over 100 lbs.

2 major issues:Comes rolled up and keeps the rolled shape for a long time, instructions suggest hair drier or direct sunlight to heat the chair mat up and allow it to become more flexible and lay flat. After 4 days mine is still not flat, but it is flat enough to put in place and use my chair and body weight to try and flatten the chair mat out further. The pain in the behind that this process is cannot be understated.This chair mat is not thick enough for deep carpet, or not stiff enough, either way this chair mat does not do the job intended. The mat still allows the chair to sink in and create depressions that are then hard to roll up out of and that the chair will try to slide down back into. This chair mat is a another failed attempt to make my home office/gaming space more functional. I am keeping it and using it to get my moneys worth since it will not go back into the box and I have no way to return it now that I have unrolled it and flattened it.I suggest not buying this product and looking for a different solution, if I could do it over I would not purchase this. If you have NO other solution possible and can absorb the cost if its not entirely successful then maybe consider this as a last resort option, it does in the short term semi support a chair on thick carpet, but its not going to last long the way its flexing it will crack eventually and there is no economically viable way to return this to the seller, shipping would be more than its worth. Finding a box big enough for it flat or rolling it up oneself would both be nearly impossible.

We have a fairly plush carpet, and we looked at four or five different types of chair mats before settling on this one. This mat was the best price to value of all the mats we looked at, and this is a thick, well constructed chair mat. The prices for these mats are all over the map depending on where you look, and Amazon has the best deal from our research. For example, you can get this same mat at Home Depot for $95 + tax if you want - which is 50% more!! Now, if Amazon raises the price, and you are reading this at a later date then your assessment of whether the price to value still holds up may change!*Shipping* - we bought two of these 36x48 mats, and for the first one shipped there were no issues - it was shipped in a massive box and it WAS NOT ROLLED UP as another reviewer experienced. However, for the second mat we received - it WAS SHIPPED ROLLED UP - but it seems to be OK due to the short duration / distance it had to travel rolled up. (we have an Amazon Fullfillment center locally).The mat that was shipped rolled up had clear packing tape around to keep it bound, and the box it arrived in was a fraction of the size of the box for the first mat of similar size we received. After tearing off the clear tape, it was more of a challenge to get it flattened out and in position as it wanted to roll back up ;-), but we put weights on it over night to flatten. The GOOD NEWS is that the mat seems fine, there is not damage due to the rolling. I think it will be fine. We have an Amazon Fullfullment Center in town, and I think the short ride and one day delivery minimized time to do any real damage.The other mat that was NOT rolled up for delivery was folded / bent over gently and in a big enough box to make the bend a non-issue. The first mat went down easily and immediately was put to use. Interesting how one mat arrives not rolled, and the next one is. Clearly not a consistent process to package these mats for delivery!*Quality of mat* - like I already mentioned, we looked at a few locally first before settling on this. I used a caliper to measure thickness of the different mats, then did a bend test, made my own subjective assessment of cosmetic appearance, clarity, etc. This mat was the thickest and best made of the ones I looked at from Staples, Office max and a local supply store. Staples had a lesser spec'd version of this mat at a higher price, so obviously we choose this one!The main thing we like about this mat - it stays in place, and does not slip / walk around!! Plus, even when I roll around on the mat at 205 lbs, there is only a small depression. Other mats I have used in the past used to sag greatly under the weight, and my chair would get "stuck in a rut" from the deep depressions caused by the mat being too thin. For my wife and kids who are much lighter, it is a non-issue. These are simply well made mats.... of course they still have to pass the test of time, we have only owned them a short time!We have since purchased a third ES Robbins Performance mat of a larger size as we really like the quality, thickness and overall usability of these mats! We would recommend them to anyone looking... they are not cheap, but they are good!Five stars so far! If anything changes, I will update the review at a later date!****NOTE: The ES Robbins Polycarbonate chair mats sold here on Amazon (the mats reviewed here are vinyl, and are much different) that are advertised for 1/2" carpets and above - be aware that if your carpet thickness PLUS your pad underneath are greater than 1/2" (most are) the polycarbonate one is not right for you. Polycarbonate mats are great for *thin* carpets with a pad (like the commercial ones found in lobbies, etc), or up to 1/2" carpets / rugs with no pad, and for hard floors. But for carpets of any thickness over a pad that totals > 1/2" - they are NOT ideal! Read this to reinforce this point:[...]To summarize what is at the link :-) : "Although polycarbonate mats boast greater rigidity there is one downside, however, of this chair mat material over vinyl. Polycarbonate desk mats do not flex or dimple like traditional PVC and therefore keep their shape making rolling easier. PVC mats are slightly more pliable. The issue arises most notably on thicker pile, plush carpet. This type of carpet compresses more so when weight is applied and, whereas a vinyl chair mat will flex to mold itself to the compressed carpet, the polycarbonate will remain rigid and, if enough pressure is applied the mat can crack since it is not designed to flex. Thus, it is recommended that polycarbonate mats be used on hard surface and lower pile carpets."This information on polycarbonate mats comes from one of the premier mat suppliers in the country. The polycarbonates are fine mats, don't get me wrong, but only for the right application.Thanks for reading!

Good product overall, thick and durable. Only problem is that it is so thick and durable it durably stays in the rolled up position it is shipped in. You NEED heat to get it to relax enough to be flat. Even after a long period of use with an office chair rolling over it repeatedly it still maintains a noticeable wave from the rolled-up position it had during shipping.

I purchased this mat to replace an old bamboo chair mat that was starting to splinter. I really wanted a tempered glass mat but feared I'd drop something on it and shatter it. I stumbled onto this chair mat that's similar to thinner mats I previously used that didn't last. Rest assured that this mat is much thicker those and feels like it'll last quite some time.As other reviews have indicated it is difficult to unroll this mat but since I knew what to expect it really wasn't that hard. I just slowly unrolled a portion of it and let it sit for a few minutes to ease into the flat shape before unrolling the next portion. That being said the little bit of work to get it unrolled is well worth it as I've had it for a bit and there aren't any marks or indications of wear.Highly recommended!

Matt is very heavy and looks great. Does not work on thick carpets- Chair sinks in to matt.Don't purchase this as it is too soft for deep pile.

Surprisingly thick mat. Having a hard time finding the right thing at the local stationary stores (wrong sizes, teeth length, thickness etc). Found this mat online, decently big (although I could have used a bit bigger). It's pretty solid. I have my desk sitting on it, so it doesn't budge. Indentation is minimal from the chair wheels, even on fairly plush carpet.Downside is it was ridiculously difficult to flatten out. It was also fairly difficult to unroll the first time. I'm fit, but I'm no muscle builder, and it proved to be a reasonable challenge to unroll, as it just didn't want to change shape permanently. Then as I slowly managed to unroll it, I had to immediately pile things on top of what I'd managed to unroll to prevent it from curling back up. After a few days of sitting in the living room with stuff piled on top of it, it still wanted to curl back up, but was flattened enough that I could put it in place. Once in place, the corners didn't flatten out for a good few weeks.

Perfect for plush rug! You need to straighten it with weights for about 3 days because it comes rolled up.

How on earth do you unroll it? It has been 24 hours and it won’t even budge a cm to unroll it ?

The mat moves on heavy pile carpets. I wouldn't buy it again.