Straight-talking ski writing from Yorkshire

A 23kg Ski Packing List from Leeds Bradford

A practical ski packing list for skiers flying from Leeds Bradford. What fits in a 23kg hold bag, and how to handle skis and boots properly.

28 April 2026 by Will Moorhouse packing listleeds bradfordflights

Flying to the Alps from Leeds Bradford usually means flying short-haul on a budget airline with a tight weight allowance. Jet2 runs the core ski programme from LBA, with Geneva, Salzburg and Chambéry all typical winter routes. Geneva gets the most frequent services. A standard Jet2 or easyJet hold bag is 23kg. Ski equipment is a separate add-on that you pay for, usually with its own weight cap.

That 23kg has to contain everything that isn’t skis and boots. For a week in the Alps that is tighter than most people realise on the first trip. Here is what actually works.

The setup

Assume you are packing:

  • One hold bag (up to 23kg) containing clothes, mid-layers, shoes, toiletries, and soft ski kit
  • One ski and boot bag paid for as sports equipment (often around £37-47 each way depending on airline and whether you book online, with its own weight cap typically around 20kg for skis and boots combined on easyJet)
  • One cabin bag containing valuables, documents and anything critical

Check the exact allowances and prices on the airline’s website before you book. Budget airline rules change season to season and the numbers above are guidance, not guarantees.

What goes in the ski and boot bag

  • Skis, poles, bindings (if you own)
  • Boots
  • Helmet (if you can fit it in the boot bag, saves space elsewhere)
  • Ski socks (rolled into the boot shafts saves room)
  • A dry bag to keep everything together

Weight-check a boot bag on bathroom scales at home before you travel. Ski boots are heavier than people expect. Budget airline sports allowances have specific limits, and an overweight charge at the airport is painful.

If you don’t own skis, leave this bag at home and hire on arrival. For a one-week trip, hiring is almost always cheaper than carrying your own kit.

What goes in the 23kg hold bag

This is where most planning goes wrong. Packing as if you’re going to a beach resort wastes weight on kit you don’t need and leaves no room for the things you actually do.

Soft ski kit (the big items)

  • Ski jacket
  • Ski pants or bibs
  • 2-3 base layer tops
  • 2-3 base layer bottoms
  • 1-2 mid-layers (fleece or thin insulated jacket)
  • Ski gloves or mittens (2 pairs if possible, one to dry overnight, one to use)
  • Ski goggles (in a hard case, not loose)

That is the core. A well-chosen ski jacket and pants will be the two heaviest items in the bag. Everything else builds around them.

Off-mountain clothes

  • 2 pairs of jeans or warm trousers
  • 4-5 T-shirts or long-sleeve tops
  • 1 warm jumper or hoodie
  • 1 pair of comfortable shoes or trainers
  • 1 warm jacket for evenings (can be a packable down jacket, they take up almost no weight)
  • Underwear and socks for the trip (more than you think, mountain sweat is real)
  • Pyjamas or sleepwear
  • Swimwear if your accommodation has a hot tub or pool

Toiletries and sundries

  • Sunscreen (Alpine sun is much stronger than UK sun, especially at altitude)
  • Lip balm with SPF
  • Moisturiser (mountain air is dry)
  • Wash kit
  • Painkillers, plasters, ibuprofen gel for knees
  • Phone charger, European plug adapter

Hand luggage: the non-negotiables

Your hand luggage should carry anything you cannot replace easily, and anything that would end the trip if it went missing for 24 hours.

  • Passport and travel documents
  • Insurance documents (including mountain-specific cover if you bought separate)
  • Phone, wallet, any keys
  • Medication
  • A change of base layer and underwear (in case your hold bag is delayed)
  • Your helmet if it doesn’t fit elsewhere (bulky but light, and airlines generally accept a helmet as a personal item)
  • Goggles if you are worried about hold-bag damage

What stays at home

The first trip you’ll want to pack everything. Leave these:

  • More than two mid-layers (you wear one, the other is drying)
  • Every single pair of gloves you own (take two, not four)
  • A full toiletries kit duplicating what your accommodation provides (shampoo is usually there)
  • Books if you already have a phone or tablet
  • Heavy smart shoes for nights out (a clean pair of trainers and a clean shirt is enough for most Alpine evenings)
  • Laptop if you don’t genuinely need it

Weight-saving tips that actually work

Wear your heaviest items on the plane

Put your ski jacket on for the flight. Wear your ski boots on the plane if you can bear it (some people do, some don’t). A worn jacket is not counted against your baggage allowance.

Use compression

A good compression bag pulls down soft clothing dramatically. Not useful for everything, you don’t want to compress a down jacket and lose its loft, but brilliant for fleeces, base layers and socks.

Share heavy items

If you are travelling with a partner, one of you carries shared items: toothpaste, sunscreen, first aid, chargers. Duplicate kit is wasted weight.

Skip the full-sized bottles

You don’t need 500ml of shampoo for a week. Decant into small bottles or buy travel sizes.

Hiring vs bringing your own skis

For a first trip, or a one-week trip, hiring skis and boots at the resort is usually the right call. Reasons:

  • No ski bag fee
  • You get current-season skis that match the conditions you’re in
  • If boots don’t fit, the rental shop swaps them for you on day one
  • Less to carry, less to lose, less to damage
  • Your 23kg goes further when you haven’t spent a kilo on boots

Hire your own kit when you ski often enough that the rental fees exceed the cost of owning, typically more than two or three weeks a year, or when you are fussy enough about your boots that hire boots will never do.

A realistic weight breakdown

An actual 23kg bag, packed sensibly, for a week in the Alps:

  • Ski jacket: 1.5-2kg
  • Ski pants: 1-1.5kg
  • 2 mid-layers: 1-1.5kg
  • Base layers (3 sets): 1.5kg
  • Jeans, tops, jumper: 3kg
  • Evening clothes, underwear, socks: 2kg
  • Shoes: 0.8-1kg
  • Washbag: 1.5-2kg
  • The bag itself: 2-3kg
  • Margin for extras: 2-3kg

That lands around 18-20kg on a normal packing effort, with room to spare for anything I’ve forgotten.

A final honest note

Every trip you take, something goes home unused. That is fine. Learn what you didn’t need and pack better next time. The goal is not optimisation on the first trip, it is a jacket that works, boots that fit, and not paying for an overweight bag at the airport.