Laptop computers have dramatically downsized over the years to the point that even among cheap, entry-level notebooks, you can expect to find plenty of lightweight (in the 2-4 pound range) options. Today's laptops are designed to fit comfortably inside a backpack, a far cry from many of the kludgy notebooks of the best. The inspiration all comes from the success of Apple's MacBook Air, which launched in 2008 and changed the game for how light a good laptop could be. More specifically, that's 2.7 pounds for the flagship 13-inch model and 3.3 pounds for the newer 15-inch SKU. As for the step-up that is the MacBook Pro, it's lighter than a lot of older laptops but still noticeably heavier than the Air: 3.4 to 3.6 pounds for the 14-inch version (depending on the configuration) and 4.7 to 4.8 pounds for the 16-inch variation.

In 2011, Intel announced the Ultrabook standard, a set of guidelines for Windows PC makers to operate within when making their own notebook computers styled after the MacBook Air. Since then, both official "Ultrabooks" and similar computers from OEMs without the Intel seal of approval have taken over the market. That means that there are a lot of options out there, both good and bad, for those in the market for a lightweight laptop. To help narrow down the list, we looked at half a dozen examples of lightweight notebook computers running Windows that have fared particularly well in professional reviews.