Sometimes Heavier Luggage Is Actually Better
Of course, a heavy suitcase can pose challenges for those with injuries, physical limitations, or low strength. In such cases, you may seek something lighter. Spinal surgeons have said they see many patients who’ve hurt their backs from lifting heavy luggage into the overhead bin. This motion puts the weight on weaker upper-body muscles, as opposed to on the legs and core, which you’d use to lift luggage up to your waist or from the baggage-claim carousel.
You may also want a lighter-weight carry-on if you travel frequently on international airlines. Most US-based airlines don’t restrict carry-on weight at all, but many international carriers do (often at around 8 kilograms, or about 17.5 pounds). So a 10-pound suitcase would be more than half the allowed weight. But a lighter-weight suitcase could give you meaningful breathing room to pack more.
At 5.4 pounds, the Travelpro Maxlite 5 21″ Carry-On Spinner — our budget pick for the best carry-on — is the lightest suitcase we tested that we still like. This suitcase still has protective framing, and “we have a hard time imagining how anyone could make a suitcase much lighter than this without breaking certain laws of physics,” Kit wrote in our guide to the best carry-on luggage. When he took the suitcase apart, he found “a clever lattice of plastic supporting the frame, which offered the best balance between weight-saving and structure.”
Budget pick
Remarkably well priced for a reputable brand, this lightweight case is an ideal pick. And it provides many features found in luggage costing nearly twice as much.
Still, the Travelpro Maxlite is only 2.4 pounds less than our soft-side top pick, the Travelpro Platinum Elite 21″ Carry-On Spinner. The reason we crowned the Travelpro Maxlite our budget pick isn’t so much due to its light weight, but rather because it’s an impressively affordable piece of luggage from a reputable brand, and it has features we’ve seen only in luggage costing twice as much.
Carry-on travel backpacks typically lack the structure (and wheels) of standard suitcases, making them more lightweight. Some people find this kind of bag freeing, saying it makes them feel more mobile. The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Del Dia Travel Pack — our top pick for the best small carry-on — weighs about 2.5 pounds, and the clamshell makes staying organized easy. While it has less capacity (5 liters) than Away’s Smaller Carry-on, it’s also about 5 pounds lighter.
Top pick
This durable bag’s clamshell design makes organizing your stuff a cinch. And the strap allows you to wear it on your back or carry it in your hand while you’re on the move.
Another option for light-weight-bag thrill seekers: a duffel. Most of the top picks in our guide to the best duffels will be lighter than a classic carry-on (save for the Yeti), and several of them can also be worn like a backpack. Still, they’re unlikely to be as comfortable as a carry-on travel backpack, and they’ll offer less protection than a standard suitcase.
One of the lightest duffel bags we recommend, the 30-liter Matador Freefly Packable, weighs less than a pound and can scrunch into its own sack. The Freefly also keeps its shape when partially packed, unlike other ultralight duffels, which “tend to behave like unruly sacks, unless they’re filled to the hilt,” Kit wrote. However, the Freefly bag has about a quarter less capacity than Away’s standard carry-on.
Best for…
The Freefly keeps its structure better than most ultra-lightweight duffels. And it has weatherproof, sealed zippers, which should keep things dry in a moderate rain. It also packs into its own bag.
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