There are road trips, and then there are road trips. In this family, we go the extra mile (or few…thousand). So when it came time to plan our summer road trip this year, I did what I usually do: I stared at Google Maps and began planning an epic off-the-beaten-track adventure.

That’s how we ended up at the northern tip of Newfoundland and put 4,600 miles on the car.

Now that the little Roarbots are 7 and 9, we were able to bump the trip up a notch. They’re already used to backpacking and international travel, but we haven’t done much actual camping with them yet. Don’t ask me why.

So it was this trip – up through Maine and Acadia National Park and then on through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland – that we were going to correct that oversight. Except that none of the tents in my arsenal would fit a family of four.

And when it comes to buying new outdoor gear (one of my not-so-secret pleasures), there’s no better stop than REI. Which is precisely where we went to stock up for the summer adventure.

Since we were roadtripping (rather than backpacking), weight wasn’t a big concern for me. The tent would be sitting in the back of the car the entire time, and all of the campsites we’d be using would be drive-up sites. Without the need to haul the tent several miles through the woods on my back, I could almost ignore weights. Which was a huge relief, I have to admit.

We’ve been happy with REI’s in-house brand in the past, so it was only natural that I start my search there. (See my review of REI’s Tarn 40 backpack here.) An added benefit of the REI Co-op brand is that it tends to be much more economical than many of the big-name brands (such as Kelty, MSR, and The North Face).

Looking through the options, and weighing our need for space, I kept returning to the Grand Hut 6. It just seemed like the best fit for us.

The entire thing (tent, rain fly, poles, and stakes) comes in at a hefty 16 pounds, so it’s certainly not your best option for long-distance hikes or multiday backpacking trips. But for road trips and car camping? It’s great.

How hard is it to assemble? I’m happy to say it’s a cinch. Because of its size (it has a an 8.3′ x 10′ footprint, without the rain fly), it can be a little unwieldy to assemble if you’re doing it solo. But odds are, if you’re setting up a 6-person tent, you’ve got someone else who can help.

And with two people, the entire thing takes about two or three minutes to set up. Easy peasy.

The nicest feature, which makes set up easy, is the single-hubbed pole. One gigantic X-shaped pole holds up the entire tent – and is remarkably stable. Color coding on the pole and tent also makes the process practically idiot proof. Match up the red ends of the pole to the red loops at the base of the tent, snap the pole into the tent’s clips, and voila! You’ve got yourself a spacious tent. (Same thing for the rain fly. Find the red clips on the fly and match them up to the same red loops on the tent. Snap in, stake the corners, and you’re dry!)

So how spacious is it? The peak height inside the tent is 78 inches (6’5″), which is plenty high. I’m 6-feet tall and had no problem standing upright with plenty of space to move around. The 83.3 square feet of floor area is also incredibly roomy, but will it really accommodate six people?

We were two adults and two kids (7 and 9), and we fit comfortably. Could we have fit two more people inside? Probably. Would it have been cozy? Probably not. And could we have squeezed six adults inside the tent? I mean, sure, but it would’ve been cramped and felt like a clown car.

For a family of four, though, it’s perfection. We had four sleeping bags (plus sleeping pads), a twin-size air bed, and a few small backpacks for overnight essentials.

How does it hold up in the rain? Remarkably well. We got rained on in Acadia National Park in Maine and in Gros Morne National Park on Newfoundland. Aside from some slight dewy dampness around the corners in the morning, we stayed nice and dry.

The footprint is NOT included with the tent, however, so you’ll definitely want to grab one of those. Without it, the floor of the tent would’ve been much wetter during the rainy nights. It’s another $50 on top of the cost of the tent (and another 1 lb 10 oz of weight), but it’s worth it. It’ll keep you drier, and it’ll help protect the bottom of your tent from wear and tear.

Will this thing be passed on to future generations? In reality, probably not. Use them enough, and most tents show their age and fail in various places. I’ve seen some rumblings in online reviews about weak zippers on this tent, but we didn’t find this to be the case. If you treat the tent with care (as you should anyway), it’ll serve you well.

With two huge doors on either end of the tent, there’s a lot of mesh on the canopy of the Grand Hut 6. Mesh is mesh. If you poke it with something sharp, it’ll rip. We also found the polyester fabric of the floor and rain fly to be fairly standard. We had no issues with any of the fabric.

This isn’t a top-of-the-line tent with cutting-edge technology, but for the price, it’s an unbeatable value. And for a family tent, it’s a no-brainer.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise that once again, we’re happy with an REI product. The Grand Hut 6 will be getting a lot of use around these parts for seasons to come.

(Disclosure: REI provided me with a review sample of the Grand Hut 6. All opinions remain my own.)