FORTISVEX Alaska State Flag 4x6 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

A 4x6 foot flag is too big for a house bracket and needs ground-mounted hardware. That practical fact, not appearance, is the real reason to choose this size over a 3x5 Feet.

This is the Alaska state flag at 4x6 Feet (24 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Alaska flag specification

The Alaska flag is set out in the Alaska Statutes on state emblems, which specify the gold as the color of natural yellow gold and the blue as matching the United States flag. It is eight gold stars on a dark blue field, seven forming the Big Dipper and the eighth, larger and set upper right, being Polaris.

Designed by thirteen-year-old Benny Benson through an American Legion territorial contest in 1926 and 1927 that drew 142 entries, unanimously adopted by the territorial legislature May 2, 1927, first flown July 9, 1927, and retained at statehood in 1959.

What the statute here fixes is the design, the colors and the seal or emblem; it does not fix a size for an outdoor flag to hit. That is the position in most of the country, and it is the reason every manufacturer settles on the same standard sizes.

The design here is reproduced faithfully, at the standard outdoor sizes the whole industry works in and that states buy for themselves. What actually matters on a flag flown outdoors is that the colors, the seal and the emblems are correct, and they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Alaska Statutes Section 44.09.020 reads:

The design of the official flag is eight gold stars in a field of blue, so selected for its simplicity, its originality, and its symbolism. The blue, one of the national colors, typifies the evening sky, the blue of the sea and of mountain lakes, and of wild flowers that grow in Alaskan soil, the gold being significant of the wealth that lies hidden in Alaska's hills and streams. The stars, seven of which form the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, the most conspicuous constellation in the northern sky, contains the stars which form the "Dipper," including the "Pointers" which point toward the eighth star in the flag, Polaris, the North Star, the ever constant star for the mariner, the explorer, hunter, trapper, prospector, woodsman, and the surveyor. For Alaska the northernmost star in the galaxy of stars represents Alaska, the forty-ninth star in the national emblem. The flag of the Territory of Alaska is the official flag of the state. The standard proportions and size graphically delineated herein shall be used in the manufacture of the official flag of Alaska. The stars shall be the color of natural yellow gold and the field of blue shall be of the same shade of blue used in the official manufacture of the national emblem of the United States.

The proportions continue in a graphic sheet, by reference.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Alaska Statutes Section 44.09.020 in full at Justia, and check what we sell against it.

That is the flag as we build it. Nothing about it is approximate.

What is on it and what it means

Benson wrote the meaning himself. The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not. The North Star is for the future of the state. The dipper is for the Great Bear, symbolizing strength.

What most listings get wrong

Seven stars make the Dipper and the eighth is Polaris, not an eighth Dipper star. Benson was of Aleut, Russian and Swedish descent and was living at the Jesse Lee Home in Seward when he drew it.

It was designed by a child and adopted without a single dissenting vote.

Where the Alaska flag flies

The original Alaska flag, dark blue silk with hand sewn gold stars, designed by thirteen year old John Ben Benson of the Jesse Lee Home in Seward, winner of a 1927 American Legion territorial contest that drew a hundred and forty two entries. The Alaska State Museum in Juneau holds the flag itself, Benson's original drawing, and the commemorative watch he was awarded, donated in 1963. The territorial legislature adopted it in May 1927 and it became the state flag at statehood in 1959.

Fly it on Alaska’s birthday

Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. Under the United States Flag Code as amended July 7, 1976, a state flag flown on the state’s birthday takes its place beneath the United States flag, and that day is the one date every year the Alaska flag has an official reason to go up.

Alaska Day on October 18 is an official state holiday, though it marks the 1867 transfer from Russia rather than admission. Statehood itself was January 3, 1959.

Get it now so it is flying on the day itself. See every state’s birthday on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Alaska

Nylon in the sheltered interior and Southcentral at Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. Polyester in the Aleutians and coastal Southwest for very high wind and salt.

For scale, the National Weather Service ultraviolet index forecast for Anchorage on July 23, 2026 was 4 at solar noon. That is the sun this flag has to survive.

At this size, twenty four square feet, wind load starts to count, and the material verdict above applies with more force than at house flag size.

This listing is nylon, right for the sheltered and moderate wind sites above, for a standard house bracket, and for anywhere you take the flag down before a storm. Two things make it the pick. It flies on the breeze most yards actually see instead of hanging flat, being light, and it dries fast, which fights mildew where humidity is high. What it sacrifices is ultraviolet resistance: nylon’s amide bonds absorb and break under sun, losing strength and color faster than polyester, plus roughly a tenth of its strength while wet. For an exposed site from the list above, the polyester version is the better choice.

One more thing that decides it, and it is the part people only learn after buying twice: a nylon flag flies on days a polyester flag will not. If the flag matters to you on a still morning, on a holiday, at a funeral, at a ceremony, that is an argument for this one even on a site where the polyester would last longer. A flag that hangs is not doing its job either.

The working benchmark most institutions use comes from the American Legion, which reports that the United States government expects a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset to last about ninety days, and one flown around the clock about a quarter of that. Retailer experience runs three to six months for nylon and four to eight for polyester flown daily, and one to three years for a flag flown only on occasions. Those are working figures, not a warranty, and exposure moves them a long way in either direction.

How the 4x6 Feet is built

The extra area on a 4x6 foot flag — more than half again a 3x5 Feet's — means more wind caught and a harder-working fly end. Four rows of lock stitching, all four earning their place.

The math comes to 24 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. In a thirty mile an hour wind, the fly end moves faster than the wind that is driving it, since the wave headed for the tip speeds up as it travels — which explains why the tip wears out first and why fly-end stitching count is worth checking on any listing.

This remains a one person task, but a windy afternoon spent taking it down alone will show you the difference from a 3x5 Feet. Handle it before weather arrives.

With lock stitching, every stitch knots into its neighbor, so damage stays contained at the break instead of running down the seam. Read 4 rows not as 4 times the strength but as 3 backups. The heading is reinforced heavy duty white, an inch and a half, with brass grommets and tooth washers taking a real load across twenty four square feet.

Commercial grade nylon is the material in this flag. Light enough to catch a gentle breeze, it sheds water rather than holding onto it and dries fast, which keeps a flag from staying heavy and stressing its seams. The ink is UV resistant and field tested, since sun exposure is what determines how long the color lasts.

A design that reproduces cleanly

Two colors and eight stars. Nothing here degrades badly, which is part of why it is one of the highest rated flag designs in the country.

For what it is worth, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 72 state, provincial and territorial flags in 2001 and rated them from zero to ten. The Alaska flag placed 5, at 7.96 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

This size wants an in-ground flagpole of eighteen to twenty five feet — on a six foot bracket, expect it to drag and wrap around the pole.

Questions about the 4x6 Feet

What flagpole does a 4x6 foot flag need? An in-ground flagpole of eighteen to twenty five feet. It is too large for a standard house bracket, which is the honest reason to choose it.

Is a 4x6 foot flag worth it over a 3x5 foot flag? Only if the flagpole is tall enough. On a twenty foot flagpole a 3x5 foot flag looks lost and a 4x6 foot flag fills it. On a six foot bracket the 4x6 foot flag will wrap.

Can I fly a 4x6 foot state flag with a 4x6 foot United States flag? Yes, and on two flagpoles of equal height that is the correct pairing, with the United States flag to the viewer’s left.

Where the step up starts to cost you

Going from a 3x5 foot flag to a 4x6 foot flag is where buying cheap begins to be expensive. The extra area means more force at the fly end and more load on the grommets, so a 4x6 Feet built to a budget fails faster than a 3x5 Feet built the same way. This is the size where construction stops being a nicety.

Specifications

• Size: 4x6 Feet
• Area: 24 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 4 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 1-1/2 inch
• Finish: Brass Grommets
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

The rule that governs both tables is a length-to-height ratio of about one quarter to one third. Borderline cases favor the smaller size if you want it flying often and lasting, or the larger size if the point is to be seen from a distance.

If you know your flagpole height, start here.

• 6 Feet house bracket: 2x3 Feet or 3x5 Feet
• 15 to 20 Feet flagpole: 3x5 Feet or 4x6 Feet
• 20 to 25 Feet flagpole: 4x6 Feet or 5x8 Feet
• 25 to 35 Feet flagpole: 5x8 Feet or 6x10 Feet
• 35 to 45 Feet flagpole: 6x10 Feet or 8x12 Feet
• 45 to 60 Feet flagpole: 8x12 Feet or 10x15 Feet
• 60 to 80 Feet flagpole: 10x15 Feet or 12x18 Feet
• 80 to 100 Feet flagpole: 12x18 Feet or 15x25 Feet
• 100 to 120 Feet flagpole: 15x25 Feet or 20x30 Feet
• 120 to 150 Feet flagpole: 20x30 Feet or 20x38 Feet
• 150 to 200 Feet flagpole: 20x38 Feet or 30x50 Feet
• 200 to 240 Feet flagpole: 30x50 Feet or 30x60 Feet
• 240 Feet and above: 30x60 Feet or 50x80 Feet, engineered to the flagpole

If you know your flag size, start here.

• 2x3 Feet: 4 to 8 Feet bracket or garden flagpole
• 3x5 Feet: 6 Feet bracket, or 15 to 20 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 4x6 Feet: 18 to 25 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 5x8 Feet: 25 to 35 Feet flagpole
• 6x10 Feet: 30 to 40 Feet flagpole
• 8x12 Feet: 40 to 50 Feet flagpole
• 10x15 Feet: 50 to 60 Feet flagpole
• 12x18 Feet: 60 to 80 Feet flagpole
• 15x25 Feet: 80 to 100 Feet flagpole
• 20x30 Feet: 100 to 120 Feet flagpole
• 20x38 Feet: 120 to 150 Feet flagpole. This is the garrison size under Executive Order 10834, at a one to one point nine ratio rather than the two to three of the commercial sizes, and it is the size flown at the White House and the Capitol
• 30x50 Feet: 150 to 200 Feet flagpole
• 30x60 Feet: 200 to 240 Feet flagpole. This is the largest standard commercial size
• 50x80 Feet: 240 Feet and above, engineered to the flagpole

The ratio does not fail at a hundred feet, but the transaction does change: past that height the flag, the flagpole, the truck, the halyard and the foundation have to be engineered together, and a flag ordered without checking the flagpole rating tends to cost the flagpole first. A few of the country’s best known flags deliberately exceed the rule, on the strength of an engineer’s calculation rather than a chart.

We do not limit ourselves to what is listed on the site. The full range above is available to order, and an unlisted size can still be supplied.

About the back of the flag

A single sided printed flag shows its design correctly on one face and reversed on the other. That is expected, and it describes almost every flag flying in the United States. A flag readable on both sides is built as two layers sewn around a liner, roughly double the cost and double the weight of a single sided flag. Unless a state’s law requires double sided, single sided remains the standard choice.

Flying it with the United States flag

Title 4, Section 7 of the Flag Code is the source for this. The United States flag is never subordinate in position — nothing flies above it, and nothing takes its place at the viewer’s left when flags are level with each other. On matched flagpoles, the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and the flags should be sized the same; on unequal flagpoles, it goes on the taller one; and on a single pole flying two flags, it goes at the top. There is no penalty for civilians who do not follow the Code, but institutions treat it as the standard regardless.

Buy two and they both last longer

Fly one for a month, then swap. Two flags rotated monthly will outlast three flags flown to destruction, because the fabric recovers when it rests and the fly end stops taking the same abuse in the same place. Take it down in severe weather; a flag left up through a real windstorm can take more damage in one night than in six normal months. And watch the fly end rather than the middle, because a few minutes with a needle when the fraying starts buys another season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

Cities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies buy state flags from us as a matter of routine. The tax exempt page is where a tax exempt account is set up; the contact page is where quantity orders, replacement schedules, and sizes not shown here get handled.

Why buy it from us

A small American company runs this store, and everything listed here is something we actually stock. Every flag is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above rather than built down to a price. We would rather one flag last than sell three that fail early. Free shipping kicks in over twenty five dollars.