Been put off flying by recent stories of lost baggage and long waits at luggage carousels? Sometimes there’s no choice but to cross your fingers and pack everything into the hold, but if you’re flying off on a short family adventure or long weekend, these days it pays to travel light.
Even if you’re not travelling by air, the right capsule to carry your kit can make all the difference. Depending on the age of your children, they may be able to carry (or even ride on) their own bag themselves. If it’s a bag they love, they’ll be only too happy to help. When kids are older, the way their luggage looks becomes even more important, but so does the quality and practical features. For grown-up adventurers, invest in the best and you’ll be set for adventures long after the children fly the nest. Get the bags right and you’ll make travelling en famille a whole lot easier.
We’ve put the best cabin-size and carry-on bags through their paces on school trips, weekend family adventures and short European hops. Here’s our pick of the best for all the family.
Best for tiny tots
Lola Llama Trunki, £44.99
Anyone who has ever tried to manhandle a three-year-old having a tantrum through an airport to make their flight on time will recognise the genius of a ride-on suitcase. Trunki is the best-known and has revolutionised family travel through airports with its cute yet functional ride-on cases. They come in a fab selection of designs – from the new llama, to tigers and buses. They can be a lifesaver for little legs on long airport journeys, and offer a great way to relieve the boredom of long waits.
Pros: Great fun and solid, sturdy design that comes with a 5-year guarantee. Also comes with a carry handle for when you inevitably need to hoist it over less smooth surfaces.
Cons: They can only travel in a straight line so you’ll need to pull with care to avoid accidents.
Best for little kids
it Luggage Children's Brick 4 Wheel Hard Cabin Suitcase, £35, Argos
A brilliant first wheeled suitcase at a wallet-friendly price. Lego fans will love it as its looks bear a striking resemblance to the plastic bricks, making it stand out from the crowd. Its tough, waterproof outer shell means it can double as a perch for kids to sit on in queues and its four swivel wheels make it easy for small children to push or pull along. Its 23L capacity makes it a good size for weekend adventures and its size (46cm x 29cm x 21.5cm) means it’s not too big for small hands to handle.
Pros: Bargain price and Lego-like looks make this an ideal first suitcase for little kids.
Cons: It's sweet and petite but kids are to likely outgrow the 23L capacity within a few years.
Best for older kids
Hype Blue Splat small suitcase, £74.99, www.justhype.com
Tweens and teens love Hype’s bold and funky designs and this tough, hard-shell splattered suitcase ticks all the style boxes. The styling was a big hit with our 11-year-old tester (who proudly wheeled it off on a school adventure trip as friends looked on admiringly). It rolls on four wheels like a dream and has a really robust pull-out handle. Inside, there are useful compression straps and a zipped pocket. It’s 33L and measures 56.5cm x 37cm x 22cm.
Pros: Street cred styling, nice and light and glides well.
Cons: A bit more expensive than the average kids’ bag and one of the larger bags we reviewed so may not fit on all airlines.
Best for sporty, style-conscious girls
Roxy Talk To Me small wheelie case, £84.99
I bought my daughters a Roxy wheelie suitcase for their first school trip age 10. They thought they were the coolest cases ever and – many adventures later – still love them now. Each season Roxy brings out stylish new colours and surf-inspired patterns that beat the boring one-colour competition hands down in the style stakes, but the basic case design stays pretty similar (it’s now made from 100 per cent recycled polyester).
It’s a great size for week-long trips. Provided my they can offload footwear into someone else’s luggage, my girls have always had enough room for their own gear on every holiday we have taken – even the three-weekers. They love the separate zipped areas that allows them to keep things compartmentalised, and the flat pocket on the front is handy for books, magazines or papers they need to keep within easy reach. At 33L it’s a manageable size, even when it needs to be carried, and for the price, the wheels offer a smooth enough ride.
Pros: Roxy comes up with the coolest colours and prettiest patterns, this bag shouts surf style and is well thought-out for practical packing.
Cons: The build quality isn’t the finest and the wheels aren’t the smoothest on the market, but it’s still robust - ours have lasted six years and are still going strong.
Best for teens
Quiksilver Horizon small wheeled suitcase, £115
Quiksilver’s laid-back surf styling lends this suitcase easy good looks and understated cool. The two roomy separate compartments make it easy to pack and it’s 41 litres and neat size (51cm x 34cm x 24cm) make it a good size for a short trip. We loved the skate wheels which ensured a smooth ride, even on quite bumpy terrain, and the 100 per cent recycled polyester exterior is tough enough to withstand hard knocks. The single compression strap helps keep it neat and the padded carry handle makes it easy to hoist into a car boot or coach.
Pros: Looks cool (without trying too hard), roomy exterior pockets, great zippers and a smooth ride. Recycled from plastic bottles, this one also bags eco credentials.
Cons: The retractable handle worked fine in our tests, but didn’t feel like the highest end build quality.
Best for adventure Dads
The North Face Base Camp small duffel, £110, North Face
Tough enough to last a lifetime of hard knocks with looks that are effortlessly cool, this duffel is something of an icon. We love this neon yellow option which turns heads for all the right reasons and will mean you’ll never lose track of it (and the kids won’t lose track of you when they’re trailing after you in the terminal).
But it doesn’t rely on rugged good looks alone; it’s supremely practical and well-designed too. It's now made from water-resistant recycled materials but remains as rugged and durable as ever. Its shape means its roomy enough to squish micro-adventure essentials into and the whole top zips flips wide so that you can easily find what you need. Need to squeeze in extras the kids dump onto you? The four compression straps help find space for a little more. There's also an internal mesh pocket for dirty clothes and a side zip pocket for securely storing essentials like passport and keys. It may not have wheels, but adventure Dads are tough enough to carry their own gear. Grab it by its padded side handles or wear it as a backpack to keep your hands free for when the kids inevitably get sick of carrying their own gear.
Equally happy carting your sports kit to training as it is coping with tough weekend adventures, it’s hard to think of any way to improve this beaut. Invest and it will pay you back by lasting for a lifetime of adventures.
Pros: Tough, good-looking, waterproof and oh-so-practical. It’s hard to fault this classic.
Cons: Ok, so you have to carry this one and can’t let wheels take the strain (you can upgrade to the wheeled version Rolling Thunder for an extra £88). But with its compact size and those comfy, padded straps, it’s no biggie. Plus, you’re Adventure Dad, you’re plenty tough enough.
Best for stylish mums
Eastpak Tranverz S, £110
Effortlessly stylish and brilliantly durable, we love Eastpak as a brand that does exactly what it says on the tin. And this classic cabin-size trolley bag is no-nonsense and lasts-for-years (the 30-year warranty says it all). It’s a great-looking example of what Eastpak does best. Eastpak started life making ‘tough gear’ products at the armed forces and progressed to manufacturing lightweight yet hardwearing bags and backpacks in experimental colours and prints.
Not only is it lightweight but it is easy for mums with their hands full to pull along, thanks to its smooth-wheeling system that glides through terminals. Its double compartment is practical for easy packing and its three-digit built-in lock is an added bonus. We love the nature-inspired ‘Growing Green’ colour, but if you fancy something with a pretty pattern, go for tropical-looking Brize Rose.
Pros: Handy cabin size 42L, 51cm x 32.5cm x24cm) yet seems impossibly roomy (helped by zippered compartments with garment straps that keep everything perfectly in place).
Cons: Beyond not being waterproof, we’re struggling to find one.
Best for those about to fly the nest
DaKine 42L carry-on roller, £134.95
DaKine has built a solid reputation for functional cool, and this bag is no exception. It’s effortlessly cool with timeless looks that won’t date. It comes in five colours but we love this Cascade Camo version. Students and older kids will appreciate the dedicated laptop pocket (which fits up to a 17” laptop) and the split-level design with mesh divider makes organising your gear easy. Its replaceable 8cm urethane wheels with precision bearings help it glide smoothly and at 55cm x 35cm x 23cm, it’s a decent size that will see them through their own adventures for years to come.
Pros: DaKine has a history of producing quality kit for surfers, skaters and snowboarders and it has brought that build quality to this solid suitcase, complete with rollerblade wheels that offer a smooth ride.
Cons: Its recycled polyester shell is water-repellent, but not waterproof.
