1 Pickett Small Travel Bag
Size/weight: 40x30x16cm, 1.1kg
Price: £329 (020 7626 3636)
Flight: London-Dublin on Ryanair, for a weekend The bag looked unnervingly oversized for hand luggage so I slung the strap over my shoulder and tried to convince everyone it was really just a handbag. Fortunately the Ryanair lady didn't question the size, which was lucky because I'd had to pack two hardback novels just to give my clothes a chance of arriving in a wearable state. Without any hard casing or structured pockets inside, the bag transforms into a squishy sack, and the joy of not having to wait for my luggage was tempered by my crumpled clothes. Lucy Siegle
5/10. Looks too tacky to be worth over £300. Not good for clothes and too large for all-purpose hand luggage

2 Eastpak Headshrinker
Size/weight 55x35x22cm, 3kg
£84.99 (0845 601 1151)
Heathrow-Madrid, British Airways, five days
In my defence, I was going for five days and it is winter. Warm clothes weigh a lot more and I had to take the hairdryer. But still, 10kg is 4kg over the BA limit. Then the announcement came that the flight was full and anyone with hand luggage weighing more than 6kg should have it checked in. Headshrinker and 10 others were sent to the hold. It's a bit of a man bag: grey/brown, nylon, sporty, covered in zips and pockets. But it soon won me round with its super-smooth, red, rollerskate-style wheels and easy-pull-out handle. The bag is light, has two other carrying handles and is easy to lock up. Kathryn Whitfield
8/10. Dull but very practical

3 Jane Shilton 'Texas' denim wheelie case
34x23x49cm, 3kg
£75 (020 7736 7771)
Gatwick- Mallorca, BA, long weekend It's surprising we haven't seen more wheelie bags in denim before now. This one is in a good deep-blue shade with brown leather trim on the handle and front pocket. But it's far from light, with an empty weight of just over 3kg. Without overpacking, and with my holiday books in my handbag, it still weighed 8.5kg at check-in. The outside pocket is big enough for a large washbag and there's a handy zip pocket at the front. The denim made it feel like a young, stylish weekend case, but I'm not sure if the admiring glances it attracted made up for waiting for my 'hand luggage' in Palma airport. Dee O'Connell
7/10. Stylish, but so heavy you'll have to hope the check-in staff are so impressed by its looks they forget to weigh it

4 Berghaus Mule 40
50x18x26cm, 0.8kg
£40 (0191 516 5700; www.berghaus.com)
Stansted-Carcassonne, Ryanair, three nights
My hand luggage failed a crucial first test: I couldn't take it on board. Ryanair lets you carry 7kg and I was toting 8.9kg of kit for a long weekend in the Languedoc. I took out a bottle of wine and a hefty hardback and the magic digits dropped to 6.7kg. Couldn't I carry the book? And would the check-in lady like the wine? She was cheerful but firm. The Berghaus Mule is easy to carry, stylish and sturdily made, with strong zips and a comfortable strap. In France, I drank the wine and finished the book. This brought the weight to under 7kg on the way back, and the bag slid easily into the overhead locker. Tim Atkin
7/10. I like the zips. I'd buy it

5 Antler Spacelite Plus Overnight/Cabin Roller-Case
50x35x20cm, 2.7kg
£70 (0161 764 5241)
Birmingham-Glasgow, BA, overnight
Let's face it, if you are heading off for a school reunion, a large suitcase is redundant. A big bottle of aspirins is all you really need. But I also needed to take a book, camera, toilet bag and change of clothes - a good 3kg before you blink. The Spacelite Plus, although compact, provided plenty of room and also has a neat, internal net to stop things bouncing all over the place. It can be towed, or carried horizontally or vertically. Robin McKie
7/10. A well made, good-looking piece of baggage

6 Antler Leather Mobile Office
55 x 36 x 20cm, 4kg
£135 (0161 764 5241; www.antler.co.uk)
Heathrow-Nice, BA, two days
The bag was big enough to take everything, and no one asked me the weight, which came in at 8.2kg (the official allowance is 6kg). I was worried I might get stopped with it in the departure lounge, but not an eyelid was batted. It was beautifully compact and easy to manoeuvre with its pull-out handle. The return journey was equally simple. As I disembarked, the stewardess commented: 'Nice bag.' I had to agree with her. Jo Revill
9/10. A great bag, but a bit heavy

7 Kipling Wall Street Cabin Luggage
35 x 50 x 27, 3.2kg
£103 (020 7299 9090)
Heathrow-Nice, BA, three days
The bag's 'used look', a distressed denim finish, is awful - not to mention the furry monkey keyring attached to the zip. This wasn't a kid's case but it felt like one. Although it handled well and the straps were robust, it didn't feel particularly lightweight. It weighed in at just under 8kg, well above the permitted 6kg, but they let me through. Then I realised I had to spend the next couple of hours carting the design disaster around Terminal 1, hoping I didn't bump into anyone I knew. Akin Ojumu
4/10. Overpriced, looks terrible and I wouldn't use it again. But it is a hard-wearing piece of kit

8 Eastpak Bullet Bob
54x34x18, 2kg
£79.99 (0845 601 1151)
Gatwick-Malaga, BA, long weekend
With some scepticism I eyed the Eastpak bag with its cunning back flap, which opens to reveal a rucksack. It is a great piece of luggage, though - well made with a comfy handle and loads of interesting, useful pockets. And it hardly weighs anything empty, so I slung in clothes, books and laptop with lots of room to spare. But there's the rub: with no wheels, I had to carry 10.6kg of clobber on my back. 'No problem, madam,' said the charming assistant, passing it as hand luggage. When I mentioned I thought the limit was 6kg, he told me it was 6kg plus a laptop, plus a coat, plus an umbrella, plus, plus, plus. It was a different story on the return leg. My bag now mysteriously weighed 12kg and went in the hold. Jane Knight
6/10. A great bag but it's too tempting to fill it up, which makes it too heavy for hand luggage, especially as it doesn't have wheels

9 Antler Firenze Superlite cabin case
47x30x24cm, 2.8kg
£61 (0161 764 5241; www.antler.co.uk)
Gatwick-Edinburgh, EasyJet, weekend
I was 2kg over the 6kg weight allowance, but #check-in let me take the bag through. All was well until I got past the departure gate. Stairs, lots of them, down to the aircraft, turned the neat, wheelie case into a cumbersome lump. On the busy plane, opening the case to get a book out was difficult, despite the good humour of my neighbour on whose lap I rested the lid. Tracy McVeigh
6/10. Better for summer trips, when bulky jumpers don't squeeze out that second pair of shoes

10 Samsonite Xylem Upright
55x40x20cm, 2.9kg
£285 (01985 855755)
Heathrow-Vancouver, Air Canada, two nights
This bag had plenty of room for my books, spare shirt, crumpled jacket and gym kit. It weighed in at 10kg, bang on the Air Canada regulation, and fitted in the overhead locker with satisfying snugness. There is a good telescopic pull-along handle which allows you to run for taxis without doing too much damage to your shins, and a zipped wallet compartment. The overnight return journey was less successful. I was among the last on the plane, could not fit the bag in any locker and endured 10 hours with it under the seat in front, my knees up to my chin, dreaming fitfully about deep vein thrombosis. Tim Adams
7/10. Slightly too big