The pad would be in my basement which has thin carpet and cement underlying. I did see those RedOctange ones, but like you said, I'm not going to spend $100 dollars on one. I was looking at these two:
http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=801960 - $50
http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=801818 - $20
From your experience is the first worth the extra $30?