IF YOU find travelling stressful, investing in the best lightweight suitcases can take a huge weight off of your shoulders. However, you’re not going to want to sacrifice packing space.
So we’ve rounded up the best lightweight suitcases that combine stylish design with practical features and functionality.
Airlines often include a limited amount of checked luggage with ticket fare, but if you’re going away for a quick break and manage to nab yourself a cheap flight, there are extra charges and a weight limit you must consider.
Although a carry-on that slots neatly into the overhead bins may be sufficient for short breaks, anything more than a few days will be enough, especially if you want a few outfit options on your trip.
Lugging hard-shell luggage isn’t always convenient, and while some of the better lightweight suitcases are made from water-resistant fabrics, they’re still more than capable of keeping your possessions safe during the inevitable knocks it takes during loading.
Just because they’re not hard-shell doesn’t mean you’ll have to carry them as they still come with spinning wheels for you to glide around the airport.
Cut the luggage load, rather than the capacity, with one of these lightweight suitcases – they’re not wimps in the packing stakes, and they’ll help you get the best from your holiday wardrobe.
Pros: Lots of packing space, very light, expandable, inside pocket
Cons: Price
Rating: 4.5/5
This suitcase is incredibly light at only 2.4kg, and you can pack a lot into it! I easily managed to pack enough for 10 days away, including shoes, sandals and hair straighteners – and I’m not a light packer.
The front gives you one big pocket that you could use for storing a set of clothes, so they’re readily available when you arrive at your destination – handy if you can’t be bothered to unpack right away. The pocket doesn’t lock, though. Also good for storing newspapers or books bought at the airport.
Inside, the bottom (main) compartment has a good-sized zip pocket along the back for small items and luggage straps to secure your clothes. There’s a zip divider in the lid to keep contents there separate from those in the bottom compartment, and even better – the lid expands, giving you even more packing space. Perfect for bringing home holiday buys.
The case is easy to manoeuvre on both hard floors and carpets, thanks to the 360° wheels. The telescopic handle has three positions and there’s a padded handle on the top, as well as a second padded handle on one side, and a grab handle on the bottom.
The Brixham has a TSA lock and comes with a lifetime warranty. It even comes with its own dust bag for storage, which is a lovely touch.
Also available in black.
Size: 71 x 43.5 x 28cm weight when empty: 2.4kg capacity: 74/88L
Pros: Price, lots of space
Cons: Four wheels (rather than eight), no combination lock
Rating: 4/5
This lightweight suitcase gives a lovely 86L capacity so there’s plenty of space for all of your clothes, shoes, toiletries and accessories.
The 360° wheels mean the suitcase is easy to move, but there are only four of them – perhaps eight would have been better, especially for manoeuvring the case when it’s full, but I guess that would have impacted the weight, not to mention the price.
Inside, the capacious main compartment has luggage straps to secure your clothes, and there’s a full-size mesh pocket on the top.
Outside, there’s a large pocket on the front of the case for last-minute airport buys, but there’s no lock on this one. That said, the main zips fit into each other, so you could easily add a padlock.
The case has a padded handle on one side and a grab handle on top, in addition to the telescopic handle. The four feet on the other side are a welcome feature.
Comes with a five-year guarantee.
Size: 77 x 46.5 x 26.5cm weight when empty: 2.79kg capacity: 86L
Pros: Made from recycled material, really lightweight, good capacity, expandable
Cons: Not sure about the full-width telescopic handle
Rating: 4.5/5
Rock’s newest suitcase launches this month, and it’s a commendable attempt to marry sustainability with practicality and style.
The Rocklite DLX is made from 100% recycled polyester and is extremely lightweight – weighing in at 2.6kg empty.
The outside of the case features a very large zipped pocket with a solid front, giving extra protection to whatever you store inside.
The two zips here fit into each other perfectly, so you could easily add a lock for extra security. There’s a second small pocket above, great for last-minute additions, but it’s not lockable, so I’m thinking pen, paper, tissues, a book, that sort of thing.
There’s a handle on the top and a handle on the side, as well as a telescopic handle with three height-adjustable positions.
Unusually, the telescopic handle stretches the width of the case, which Rock says makes for better stability, but I’m not sure about it; I found it a bit unwieldy.
The 360° wheels mean the suitcase is a dream to move around – and there are eight of them, so even when it’s full, manoeuvrability is excellent.
Inside, you have one main compartment with luggage straps to hold everything in place, while the inside of the top section has two large zipped pockets – one in mesh so you can easily see what you’ve stored inside. Even at this weight it still manages to incorporate an expansion feature, giving you extra space for holiday buys.
The Rocklite DLX has a TSA lock and comes with a 15-year warranty. It’s available in denim blue, charcoal and purple, as well as khaki.
Size: 68 x 42 x 24cm weight when empty: 2.6kg capacity: 45L/51L
Pros: Lightweight, price, expandable, fun colour
Cons: Lack of inside pockets, no feet
Rating: 4/5
Summer’s coming, and this suitcase has a real holiday vibe. I know looks aren’t everything, but if you can have a suitcase in a fun colour that looks good, why wouldn’t you?
Practically speaking, where the Tripp Chic stands out is in its weight – 3.2kg empty, which is pretty impressive for a hard shell suitcase of this size. I could easily lift it with one hand.
The four wheels have 360° movement, and when empty, the case is easy to pull. The telescopic handle feels a little flimsy for the size of the case when it’s full, and it is a bit more difficult to manoeuvre.
There’s a soft grip handle on the top of the case and another on one side, which makes the case comfortable to carry. However, there are no feet if you were to set it down on its side, which means you could easily scratch the exterior.
Inside, the bottom section has luggage straps to secure your clothes, and the top section has a mesh cover with a zip around three sides, so you can keep the contents here separate and secure.
But why no interior pockets? It’s a shame as they’re so handy for storing bits and pieces you don’t want just lying loose inside. The top section is expandable, giving you a useful six-litre extra capacity if you’ve hit the shops too hard and you’re short on space.
The Chic has a TSA lock and comes with a five-year guarantee.
Size: 67x45x28/31cm weight when empty: 3.2kg capacity: 66/72L
Pros: Loads of pockets – including laptop pocket, RFID pocket
Cons: Expensive
Rating: 3.5/5
The Craghoppers Wheelie is designed to hold your laptop, iPad, chargers and any other essential equipment you may be taking on a work trip, with separate pockets for all of these. It also features an RFID pocket and a cut-resistant panel on the front.
Inside, there’s space for your clothes in the bottom compartment and in the top, which features a zipped divider. The khaki lining, luggage straps, zip and edging add a stylish touch.
The two wheels sadly don’t move through 360°, and I noticed a bit of resistance when pulling the case across a hard floor, but they are chunky and look like they’re built to last.
Though the case doesn’t come with a lock, it’s easy to add one as the main zips fit together. There are also luggage straps on the outside for extra security.
The telescopic handle feels sturdy, and the soft grip underneath is really comfortable to hold. There’s a padded handle on the top also, and thin handles on the side and front pockets.
Comes with a five-year guarantee.
Size: 55 x 34 x 24cm weight when empty: 2.7kg capacity: 40L
Pros: Price, good internal layout
Cons: No side handle
Rating: 3.5/5
We love the subtle pink of this cabin case, which has a 35L capacity, so it is ideal for a day or two away from home, whether you’re relaxing on a city break or travelling for work.
It’s made from ABS plastic, so it’s robust yet light, and it has four 360° wheels for easy manoeuvrability on hard floors and carpets.
Inside, the design is practical: the bottom compartment has a zip pocket at the back and luggage straps to hold everything in place, while the top compartment features a zipped divider and within that, a large, zipped mesh pocket.
The telescopic handle has three positions and there’s also a soft-grip handle on the top, though none on the side. It also has a combination lock.
Size: 55 x 37 x 21cm weight when empty: 2.5kg capacity: 35L
Pros: Built to last, lifetime warranty, internal pockets
Cons: Price
Rating: 4.5/5
Away’s The Medium measures 66cm x 47cm x 28cm and is a decent size for most trips.
We loved that the different compartments made it super easy to pack, and there’s also a waterproof laundry bag included so you can enjoy a last-minute dip in the pool before a flight out without worrying about all your stuff getting wet.
The £315 price tag is hefty, but that’s because the suitcase is covered by a limited lifetime warranty – if anything goes wrong, they will just fix it or replace it.
For those who aren’t sure about splashing out, Away offers a 100-day trial on any unpersonalised suitcases so you can see whether it’s a good fit for you and return it if it’s not.
Size: H66 x W47 x D28cm weight: 4.5kg capacity: 66.8L
You can buy lightweight suitcases in stores on the high street, in specialist luggage shops, department and chain stores, as well as online. We found the suitcases in our roundup at:
There’s a huge range in prices of suitcases so consider what features are most important to you.
The suitcase material, weight and capacity will all impact the price – as well as the brand – and we saw prices range from £30 to almost £400.
It may be worth paying a slightly higher price as a suitcase is an investment purchase that should last you years – and if not, be covered by a decent warranty.
This depends on whether you’re looking for a cabin, medium or large case and the features that matter to you most – such as a TSA lock, expandable space, style or cost.
For great value, we loved the IT luggage range at Argos and also the Tripp Ultra-lite cabin suitcase at Amazon.
If you’re looking to spend a bit more for a long-term investment, the new Antler Clifton case is sure to turn a few heads.
A lightweight cabin bag or medium case should come in around 2 – 3kg.
For the larger suitcases, you might expect to see weights of 3.5 – 5kg and this would still be deemed as lightweight.
Look out for the capacity of the case as well as the weight to ensure you’re getting plenty of packing space for your money.
Consider the casing material as you want something durable, hardwearing and ideally scratch resistant as luggage often gets thrown around a fair bit on your travels.
Also, consider security features such as a TSA-approved lock and secure zips – as well as compartments and straps to keep your things in place.
Finally, check out the warranty – as these can vary from just one year to 30 years! – and also look at exactly what is included in the cover, as this also varies from brand to brand.
