Heavy duty chair mats are a good solution for heavy people who want to shield their carpeted or hardwood floor from potential damage from the casters. It helps people slide back and forth the desk with little-to-no effort. You can also avoid lower body fatigue as there’s little strain on the back and legs.
For these reasons, choosing the right mat is a key to sitting comfortably, thus helping you become more efficient at work.
If you’ve sent some plastic or Vinyl mats to the landfill, it’s time you considered a heavy-duty glass mat that stands up to heavy use. Read our reviews to find the best chair mat for a heavy person to protect your office floor or carpet.
Heavy Duty Chair Mat – Quick Comparision
Reviews of The Best Chair Mats for Heavy People
We look at different key factors like capacity, design, and durability to pick out the best items. Whatever you choose, we guarantee that you’ll have a great experience using your mat.
1. MuArts Crystal Clear Heavy Duty Hard Chair Mat – Best for Capacity
Given the size and thickness, this rigid chair mat is a steal, making it a great choice for those on a tight budget. It also offers nice features just as other more expensive competitors do.
This mat is 0.2 inches thick, making it thicker than any other mat of equal size. You can use this MuArts upgrade version for hardwood floors, medium, and low pile carpets.
As the mat is made of Plexiglas, it is transparent and still lets the beauty of your hardwood floor or carpet shine through. Thanks to the material, there’s no issue of curling or folding. It is also more durable compared to a glass mat.
This heavy-duty chair mat can endure a heavy load of up to 1,200 pounds. Even though it does not come with spikes to adhere to the floor, it doesn’t move around when used. Without the spikes, the mat appears more aesthetically looking.
However, the edges are slightly sharp, which might be an issue if you go barefoot in the room.
- The most affordable option
- Non-toxic and odorless
- Stays firmly in place
- Slightly sharp edges
2. AFMAT Heavy Duty Office Chair Mat
This polycarbonate chair mat is perfect for heavy uses and protecting your floor from the rolling chair casters’ damage. It’s one of the best carpet chair mats for heavy people, bearing up to 1,000 pounds of weights.
This well-constructed floor mat provides smooth movements without letting your back and leg exert too much strength. It saves you from early leg fatigue if you sit long hours.
The carpet studs on the underside keep the mat stay in one place. You don’t have to reposition it from time to time like with other ordinary mats.
There is a light texture on the surface, which is not obtrusive enough to catch your attention but prevents the office chairs from skidding and slipping.
Unfortunately, we notice that the spikes would be a little rough for a wooden floor.
- Withstands up to 1,000 pounds
- Studs for fixing the mat to the floor
- Easy to maintain
- No scuffs
- Too tough spikes for wooden surface
3. Marvelux Heavy Duty Polycarbonate Office Chair Mat – Best for Sound Absorption
The top-quality pure Polycarbonate makes this Marvelux Mat incredibly sound absorbent, which is a selling point of the product. You seamlessly switch from place to place and move the chair with ease and less noise.
Moreover, the quality material used renders the unit thinner but more durable and robust than any other thicker mat of the same material. The transparent design allows your patterned carpet shows through.
This heavy duty carpet chair mat comes with studs on the underside that keep it in place without deteriorating your carpet. Whether you have medium, standard, or low pile carpets, you never go wrong with this nominee.
The smooth surface of the mat allows for effortless chair movement while still provides an excellent grip to prevent the chair from slipping.
The only issue we found is the strong spring-out action when you unpack the product. Don’t try to hold any part of it and stand back for your safety.
- Highly sound absorbent
- Reasonably-priced
- Ergonomic gliding
- Studded side
- Strong spring action when opened
4. Amazon Basics Polycarbonate Heavy Duty Chair Mat – Best Overall
If you’re struggling to move around on your carpeted or hardwood floor, this pick offers an ideal choice.
The quality polycarbonate material helps the model highly resistant to flexing, cracking, and breaking. Unlike other low-quality mats, which will fall apart under heavy use, this mat will stay with you for a decent period of time and withstand up to 500 pounds.
The texture on the surface allows the chair wheels to roll smoothly but not too easily. The beveled edge comes in handy when you roll off the mat. You can roll it back effortlessly without having to lift it.
Unfortunately, the unit is smooth on the underside, making the carpets appear slippery to set under. For wooden flooring, this pick is the best heavy-duty floor mat for office chairs on the market.
- Decent capacity
- Beveled edge
- Doesn’t crack, flex, or scratch easily
- Might slide on low-pile carpets
5. Floortex Glaciermat – Best for Design
The manufacturer uses tempered glass for this mat, which is five times tougher than ordinary glass. The glass looks smooth, crystal clear, and complements the beauty of your floors well. Thanks to its transparency, you can showcase your beautiful carpets or hardwood floor.
This product can bear up to 1000 pounds, translating to 454 kilograms. It’s incredibly well-built, robust, and remains in good condition after several months of intense use.
The product is not easy to scratch or crack. Heavy objects like chargers or computer mice might drop and will not cause any harm to the surface. The manufacturer offers a 10-year warranty so that you can buy this quality mat with confidence.
On the downside, since this unit doesn’t have spikes, it slowly slides away from its original position. You’ll need to move it back once in a while.
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Bears up to 1000 pounds
- Long period of warranty
- Doesn’t curl, discolor, or bent
- Needs repositioning
6. Clearly Innovative Glass Chair Mat – Best for Chair Movement and Transition
This thick piece of glass comes with beveled edges and rounded corners. You can walk on and off the mat with bare feet worry-free. These rounded edges are thick enough to sink into the carpet, so you won’t even notice their presence.
These beveled sides promote a seamless transition from the mat to the floor when you roll off the side. You slide back as easily as you on the mat surface.
It is effortless to slide on the mat. If you’re used to a plastic mat, the smooth movements might surprise you, but you’ll soon find it’s a pleasant experience.
This mat is 0.25 inches thick, which is the thickest one on this list. Besides, this extra thick chair mat is also safe for the environment. The manufacturer uses renewable silica sand to make the mat, which is free of Phthalate and BPA. The material is also hard to crack or break in heavy use.
For some surfaces, the mat might slightly shift towards the direction you often approach. You can solve this issue by using the included Velcro stickers.
- Smooth movements
- Extra thick and Environment-friendly
- Easy-to-roll edges
- A lifetime warranty
- Needs stickers to fix in place
7. DoubleCheck Office Chair Mat – Best for Budget
One of the highlighted features of this pick is that it has a lip extension towards the under-desk area, meaning you can save more floor spaces from wear and tear.
The manufacturer claims that their product can stand up to 200.000 loading cycles, which we haven’t verified. However, many users reported that they have been using this mat for several hours daily for several years and saw no buckling, cracking, or whatsoever.
Like many standard mats, this pick is crystal clear so that you can see the underneath flooring patterns and colors. Little spikes prevent the mat from shifting around while are not obtrusive to ruin its look.
The mat arrives flat, so there’s no need to flatten it out. You can use it straight out of the box.
The only downside is that the mat is not suitable for hardwood floors.
- Cheap
- Front lip to further protect your floor
- Heavy-duty
- Studded underside
- Not for hardwood surfaces
Things to Consider Before Buying a Heavy Duty Chair Mat
Your mat of choice should fit your floor’s type and should not be too small for the working area. Features like material, design, proof, and scratch resistance also decide whether the mat is worth the money or not.
1. Types of Floor or Carpet
Most mats are for both carpeted floors and hardwood floors. For more slippery surfaces, like medium and low pile carpets, the spikes on the bottom will help to adhere the mat in place, saving you from the hassle of repositioning it.
Even though there are mats for high pile carpets, they are far and few between. Most mats are for low, standard, and medium pile carpets.
Make sure your mat of choice is compatible with the floor types and the thickness of your carpets before taking the plunge. For hardwood flooring, a smooth underside will protect your floor.
2. Size
Use a measuring tape to know the dimension of your workstation to choose the perfect chair mat.
3. Features
Materials
If you’re on the heavy side and use vinyl or plastic mats, there is a high chance you’ve replaced your mat several times. Plastic mats are not for heavy use.
Plexiglas and Polycarbonate are the most favored materials to produce heavy-duty chair mats. They’re both clear plastics, providing high transparency for your mat.
Plexiglas is much cheaper, has higher clarity, resistant to discoloring and scratching. Polycarbonate plastic is considerably stronger and more durable. It’s also hard to chip and crack, making it ideal for producing household gadgets intended for heavy-use.
Slip-proof
The surface should be smooth for you to roll effortlessly but has sufficient grip to prevent slipping. For that reason, mats commonly have a slight texture on the top to provide a proper grip for the rolling chair wheels.
Scratch-proof
A mat that is sensitive to scratching makes an unattractive display for your room. Even worse, scratching can restrict the movements and cut down the mat’s lifespan.
Ergonomic Design
Even though there’s little distinction in design between mats, you can still pick out the good-looking and quality one by looking at some factors.
Not all mats have the same level of transparency. Some are crystal clear and seamlessly blend into your low pile carpet, while others are more opaque.
Beveled edges promote an easier transition from the floor to the mat when you roll off the side. Therefore, you will find it easier to return to the mat without lifting your office chairs. These edges are also safer if you’re habitually on barefoot.
Studded sides or spikes help to hold the mat in place, especially when it’s on carpets. Besides, a mat with a lip further protects your floor when you habitually roll towards your desk.
4. How to Install a Glass Floor Mat
While the best chair mat for heavy person can take the weight of up to 1,000 pounds, a small bit underneath it can lead to permanent damage; even worse, kill it right away.
It takes little effort to install glass chair mats. However, you should not only unwrap it, but also place it on and go ahead using it. Make sure your floor is free from debris first.
For a wooden floor, wipe it clean before placing it down the mat. For a carpeted floor, use a vacuum to get rid of any dirt and dust.
Once your floor is spotless, you can carefully place down the mat. Due to the heavyweight, we think you will need some help.
Conclusion
People love to buy things that last. If you’re on the heavy side and have waved goodbye to a few mediocre mats, get one of our recommended best chair mats for heavy people.
Buying one is rather simple; however, you’d better off take a look at key considerations on our buying guide to make an informed decision. We don’t want you to have any regret afterward.
The installation is straightforward. However, do your due diligence and make the surface spotless before lowering the mat. Glass office mat is a long-term investment and a helpful companion for years to come.
If you are a heavy person, you should definitely read the following articles:
- 10 Recliners That Can Hold up to 500 Lbs for Big and Tall Men
- Top 10 Sturdy Bed Frames for Overweight Couples
- 4 Best Ways to Keep Your Carpet from Fraying at Edges