Is heavier weight carpet padding a waste of money?
I was curious about this and did some research myself. From what I read, it appears that the purpose of carpet padding is not for under foot comfort but to extend the life of the carpet. In fact the best performing padding actually provides less comfort under foot but extends the life of the carpet. Although thicker, "plushier" padding would certainly provide a plushier under foot feel (just as if you put a 2x4 over softer material), that is not the goal of the padding. My feeling on this would be to invest the price difference instead into the "plushier" carpet rather then the padding if your concern is simply comfort.