I’ve gone off time and time again about the state of my ramshackle Philly apartment in past stories, but I promise that’s not because I’ve run out of other stuff to write about. I find new problems with my (admittedly very affordable) home almost daily, and the most recent one developed when I decided to ditch the rug in my office: I learned that my whole apartment is slightly uneven. As a result, despite having one of the best office chairs at any given time, they all roll away from the desk I have perched at my window. I finally found a solution by scoring myself an Anji Mountain Office Chair Mat that gives me just a tad more friction.
Normally, desk mats are relatively smooth. Many are made from hard materials like wood or glass, and they’re designed to reduce interaction and friction between a chair’s casters and the floor. That’s precisely what I did not want, so I scoured for something that I knew the wheels would sink into a bit more easily. My solution was to invest in a woven mat, and it’s working precisely how I wanted it to.
The ideal amount of friction
Aside from the need to take cleaner photographs, I got rid of the rug in my office because it was a pain to roll a chair around under me while positioned on top of it. As such, I didn’t need to return to the situation I was in previously. Luckily, this mat strikes a good balance with its rolling resistance, thanks in no small part to its construction.
Unlike a normal rug, this mat has a solid middle layer. It came folded in half, but there is otherwise nowhere to bend the PVC lining that wouldn’t break it. This gives the mat some extra durability, but it also importantly stops your casters from sinking all the way through to the floor. The result is a surface that feels like it has some drag, but nowhere near enough to make rolling around feel laborious.
Great size for a workspace
Installing my mat under my desk was a breeze. It’s just wide enough that I can slide it under the feet of my Vari standing desk without wrestling with loose edges, and it covers exactly the area that I normally traverse with my chair.
I get a bit restless when I sit still, so you’ll often find me rolling around in circles as I try to come up with the right words for a story. This is how I initially discovered my issue with my slanted floors: I scooted just a little too far back and was suddenly rolling all the way into the hallway. So far, I haven’t rolled off this mat a single time while working, even when one or two stray casters made contact with the hardwood.
Great colors
I tend to avoid mentioning color options when I test and review products, because I think that’s a matter of taste that’s difficult to turn into an objective take. That said, I can’t help but mention that this mat helped me achieve a secondary goal of mine for the new year, which is to decorate my office with more color. This mat has 9 pattern options available on Amazon, and none of them are simple or monotonous. If you prefer millennial gray, this might not be the pick for you, but I personally can’t complain about the extra vibrancy in a room I use for most of my waking day.
A small purchase that made a huge difference
I acknowledge that I have a lot of first-world problems as a professional product reviewer, but I still celebrate just a little when I wake up every morning and don’t find an office chair in the middle of my hallway. I also love entering my office and finally seeing a pop of color amid a sea of black, white, and gray. That’s two of those problems solved right there.
There’s no question that you can find a cheaper desk mat out there, but it was a struggle for me to find anything with comparable materials, size options, and color options, which is why I think this is a worthwhile splurge. When I finally move into a nicer apartment with even floors, I may not get the same benefit out of it that I do now, but it will still have a home beneath my desks for as long as it’s not threadbare.
