How can I minimize the weight of the suitcase of my checked in luggage?

Also consider duffel bags. Collapsible and easy to store.

I personally swear by them. I had a cheap one purchased from K-Mart. It traveled with me to South America, the Caribbean, up and down the US East Coast, to Europe, etc. and survived! I travelled with that thing for 10+ years until the strap finally ripped on my last trip.

But it was great to travel with since packing light isn’t my specialty. As a fairly petite person, I was happy that I didn’t have to sacrifice having wheels since they weren’t too bulky. However, I also found a sturdy wheel-less one at an army surplus store that was HUGE but light and folded pretty flat. Perfect when I moved away to college.

Re Minimimising weight of checked in “suitcase”:

In probably everywhere I’ve been you can buy large strong cheap (choose any 3) polypropylene (I think) bags which fold flat with a very small volume, are strong enough to resist airline handling and which cost very little (see photo below. They have a zip top, come usually in pastel stripes or tacky tartan or a generally ikky colour.

I and my family use these as what I term “Ocean Jumping Bags”.
They are light enough and compact enough that that can be folded up and kept until the next ocean-hop arrives – but also cheap enough and available enough that they can be discarded and replaced when required.

In the absence of these life savers a piece of plastic tarpaulin plus parcel tape would be almost as useful, but lacks the zip and more easily sealed nature of the bag.

These bags can either be packed with all checked-in material and no other bag, or smaller bags & boxes and loose material can be placed in them.
They are usually of larger volume than required and, rather than committing a large floppy bag to the baggage handlers’ tender care, I usually fold them into a compact bundle and then wrap them in parcel tape. The handles are sewn on and will tear off without much effort, but the actual bags are awesome strong.

As the bags offer little or no protection against impact I put more delicate material in the middle wrapped around with clothes (and sometimes extra packing if required) and / or with rigid less breakable objects and then wrap with tape. Such an arrangement has never been torn open in transit when I’ve used it, and would probably survive any conceivable treatment it would receive

OCEAN JUMPING BAGS

Three samples – various sizes.
The largest is

• 700mm square by 250mm thick and

• weighs 210 grams (7 ounces) and

• 120+ litres capacity and

• cost about $US5 retail late at night (In Australia, but relatively cheap anywhere).

Add a bit more weight for tape if desired.
Middle can be thicker if desired just by packing more in there.
Coke box for sizing. Tasteful editing to meet domestic censor’s requirements.
That bag has more volume (120 litres + ) than the all except the very largest suitcase you’ll be liable to find. (The large bag was bought in Australia and brought two backpacks back to NZ. The medium one was bought somewhere in Asia and brought now unknown sundries to NZ.)
Larger version of image here, fwiw

Added October 2015: I just visited Australia for two weeks. On the return flight I ended up on a China-Airlines flight. Reading the fine print showed the checked baggage allowance was 20 kg (unlike the now usual 23 kg) and they specifically said that bags combined together either by taping/wrapping or with several bags inside a large outer bag were unacceptable – the only time I’ve ever seen either of those stipulations.
In the event – at checkin we were told that the checked allowance was 25 kg and while the person on the counter was aware of the “not taped together” requirement it was clear that it WOULD have been acceptable if done well – they appeared to be trying to avoid a multi part mess thrown together badly so that it may come apart en route Given hjow baggage handlers sometimes throw bags around extremely roughly (based on numerous reports and my personal observations on a number of occasions) this seems a reasonable requirement.

I personally take what is absolutely necessary… I wear the heavier shoes, switch them with light sneakers later. I wear the heavier coat and sweater and I sling my jacket over my shoulder. Most airlines will allow you a laptop bag along with the carry on, keep your books in there too!

For your question I’d suggest using a scale to determine which items are really heavier than the others. You don’t have to weigh everything, just the items you suspect could be heavy. You would be surprised how deceitful volume can be!

• Buy a strong, light suit case. I have a large “Samsonite” suitcase and it is so light. These kind of suitcases are usually more expensive but for the durability and the saving on the long run, they are really worth it.
• Cardboard boxes are a good idea if no other option, make sure to wrap it with plastic at the airport for extra strength. Also, ask the guy who wrap it to make a handle. They have a way of making a handle with the plastic wrap, this will make carrying it much easier (something similar to this).

Reducing the weight of your luggage is a major factor. Most people don’t realize that the old bulky piece that you bought at a budget department store could take upto 1/3 of your carry on allowance before it’s packed.

Make sure you only bring what you need. Pare down to your absolute essentials, and leave the four pairs of shoes you love to travel with at home.

You could use a cardboard box, but it will be a pain in the bum to carry around to your destination.

If you’re flying with a budget airline, you’ll still have to watch out, as budget airlines tend to be more anal about what you carry on. They can mess you over on both size and weight of your hand luggage.

That said, the solution is pretty straightforward, in generic terms: put larger, lighter items in your checked in luggage and heavier, smaller items in your carry on. If what you check in is not fragile, you can use a light cloth or canvas bag to minimize the weight of your luggage, even though then you might have a harder time lugging your stuff around at your destination.