I'm sorry but there is no basis for 'density' to pick carpet. Your asusming that the 'higher' # must be better? Longevity is acheived by a combination of face wt, pile height and fiber. A frieze is almost always a good choice. Because its a looser construction the 'density' will always be less than a cut pile but the longevity will be better. If buying cpt by comparing #'s was this easy but it isn't. A better indication is to look for carpet that has 'appearance retention' warrantys. Any of the Smartstrand carpets will give you good performance.

Don't buy Smartstrand it will not resist stain. Warranty is not honored by Mohawk. It is about a three year carpet.

Janice349- I've had smartstrand in 2 different housrs, plus a client had WHITE smartstrand in their house with 3 toddlers, and they all looked brand new 3 yrs later. In spite of my elderly dog having accidents. Perhaps you were given something else, but we're told it was smartstrand. I always got the mid grade frieze. Client had a plush. I love smartstrand and wold tear out new carpet of a different brand so I can install it. It didn't even mat down on stairs. When I went to sell my house, I didn't even clean it...just vacuumed and it still looked new.

Well, any decent 3 year old carpet SHOULD look decent after only 3 years. That is young for a carpet.