FORTISVEX Hawaii State Flag 3x5 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

The 3x5 foot flag is the one most people mean when they say flag. It is the default house size, it fits the bracket that came with the house, and it is the size replaced most often in America.

This is the Hawaii state flag at 3x5 Feet in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Hawaii flag specification

The Hawaii flag is set out in the Hawaii Revised Statutes provisions on the state flag, which carry a detailed heraldic blazon. It is eight horizontal stripes in white, red and blue repeating, with the British Union Jack in the canton.

In use since 1816, with the stripe count fixed at eight by King Kamehameha the Third on May 25, 1845, and retained at statehood in 1959.

The statute for this flag describes the design, the colors and the seal or emblem, but it does not fix an overall size that a modern outdoor flag has to match. That is the normal position across most of the country, and it is why every manufacturer builds state flags in the same standard sizes.

The reproduction here is faithful to the design, in the standard outdoor sizes used industry wide and bought by the states themselves. On an outdoor flag, correct colors, seal and emblems are what counts, and that is what you get.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 5-19 reads:

The official description of the Hawaiian flag as authorized to represent the State of Hawaii on land and sea, and authorized for executive state agencies, second to the stars and stripes of the United States shall be: (1) The Hawaiian flag shall consist of eight horizontal stripes, alternately white, red, blue, etc., beginning at the top, having a jack cantoned in the dexter chief angle next to the point of suspension; (2) The jack shall consist of a blue field charged with a compound saltire (crossing) of alternate tincture white and red, the white having precedence; a narrow edge of white borders each red side of the saltire; (3) A red cross bordered with white is charged (placed) over all; (4) The proportion shall be as follows: (A) The fly (length) is twice the hoist (width); (B) The jack is half the hoist (width) in breadth and 7-16 the fly in length; (C) The arms of the red cross with border shall be equal in width to one of the horizontal stripes; the white border shall be one-third the width of the red cross; (D) The arms of the compound saltire (crossing) are equal in width to the red cross, the tinctures white, red, and the border being in the proportion of 3, 2, 1, respectively.

The statute then adds that when the Hawaiian flag is flown from the same halyard as the flag of the United States it shall be underneath the national colors, and gives the ceremonial folding method.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 5-19 in full at the Hawaii State Legislature, 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

The eight stripes are the eight major islands, Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau. The Union Jack reflects historic ties to Britain, after Vancouver gave Kamehameha the First a British flag in 1793. The colors themselves carry no individual official meaning.

What most listings get wrong

The Union Jack reflects friendship, not colonial status. Hawaii was never a British colony. The designer is uncertain, either Alexander Adams or George Beckley, and sources do not agree.

It is the only state flag containing another country’s flag, and the only one that flew over an independent kingdom.

Where the Hawaii flag flies

The Hawaii State Archives on the Iolani Palace grounds holds royal standards and historic Hae Hawaii, including Queen Liliuokalani's personal royal standard that flew over Iolani Palace on January 17, 1893, the day of the overthrow. It was seized, disappeared for eighty five years, and returned to Hawaii in 1978. The Archives also holds the Hae Hawaii lowered at annexation on August 12, 1898 and one flown over the capitol on statehood day, August 21, 1959. The popular story that the palace flag was torn into souvenir pieces at annexation is treated by archivists as a myth. The flag was tattered from age.

Fly it on Hawaii’s birthday

Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 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 Hawaii flag has an official reason to go up.

Statehood Day, also called Admission Day, falls on the third Friday in August and is an official paid state holiday. In 2026 it is August 21.

Have it on hand before the date arrives and it is on the flagpole in time. The full state-by-state list is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Hawaii

Polyester statewide. Constant trade winds, relentless ultraviolet and salt air everywhere, at Honolulu, Hilo and Kailua.

At fifteen square feet, a house flag, the flag material decides whether it flies on a light day and how fast it dries after rain.

This listing is the nylon. It is the right choice for the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, on any house bracket, and anywhere the flag comes down in storms. Two things decide that. Nylon is light, so it flies on the breeze most yards actually get instead of hanging limp, and it dries fast, which is what fights mildew in a humid climate. What it gives up is ultraviolet life: nylon’s amide bonds absorb ultraviolet and break, so under hard sun it loses strength and color faster than polyester, and it loses roughly a tenth of its strength while it is wet. If your site is one of the exposed ones above, look at the polyester version of this flag instead.

One more consideration, learned by most people only after a repeat purchase: a nylon flag moves in conditions where polyester hangs still. If the flag needs to actually be flying — a calm morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that is an argument for nylon even on a site where polyester would technically outlast it. A flag that just hangs there has failed just as much as one that frays.

Institutions commonly cite the American Legion’s figure: the federal government expects about ninety days from a flag flown daily sunrise to sunset, and roughly a quarter of that flown around the clock. On the ground, retailers report three to six months for nylon flown daily, four to eight for polyester, and one to three years for occasional flying. Take these as working estimates, not warranties — exposure can move them a long way in either direction.

How the 3x5 Feet is built

The fly end is where this size gives out, and it gives out sooner than it should on most flags people buy, because the 3x5 foot flag is bought on price more than any other size. Four rows of lock stitching on the fly end is the difference between one season and three.

The arithmetic behind that: 15 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. In a thirty mile an hour wind the fly end of a flag this size travels faster than the wind itself, because the wave running out to the tip accelerates as it goes. That is why the tip wears out first and why the stitching count at that end is the number worth reading on any listing.

One person puts it up and takes it down. It folds into a drawer. If you are rotating two flags monthly, this is the size where that habit costs you nothing but a minute.

Lock stitching means each stitch is knotted into the next, so a broken thread stops where it broke rather than unzipping the seam. 4 rows does not mean 4 times the strength; it means 3 backups. The heading is heavy duty white and reinforced, an inch and a half wide, with two solid brass grommets. Fifteen square feet is enough sail area to work the grommets hard on a windy site.

The flag material is commercial grade nylon. It is light enough to fly in a gentle breeze, it sheds water rather than holding it, and it dries fast, which matters because a flag that stays wet stays heavy and works its seams harder. The ink is UV resistant and field tested; sun is what takes a flag’s color, and the ink decides how long it holds.

Why this flag is harder to make than most

The compound saltire of the Union Jack has to be proportioned exactly or it reads as wrong to anyone who knows it, and it sits in a canton over eight stripes that all have to line up.

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 Hawaii flag placed 11, at 7.15 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

It suits a five or six foot house bracket, or an in-ground flagpole of fifteen to twenty feet. That is the most common residential setup in the country and this is the size built for it.

Questions about the 3x5 Feet

What size flagpole does a 3x5 foot flag need? A six foot house bracket, or an in-ground flagpole of fifteen to twenty feet. It is the most common residential pairing in the country.

How long does a 3x5 foot nylon flag last outside? The federal working figure is about ninety days for a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that flown around the clock. Retailers commonly see three to six months in daily use and one to three years flown on occasions only.

Is this flag printed or sewn? The design is printed in UV resistant ink on one side and reads through in reverse on the back, which is how nearly every state flag sold in the country is made. The construction, the heading, the stitching and the grommets are sewn.

Why this size gets replaced most

It is not that the 3x5 foot flag is weaker. It is that it is the size sold on price, which means most of them are built to a price. A cheap 3x5 foot flag with one or two rows of stitching on the fly end will fray inside a season and be six inches shorter by the end of the next one. The construction is the whole difference.

Specifications

• Size: 3x5 Feet
• Area: 15 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?

Both tables follow the same logic. A flagpole reads best with a flag whose length falls between a quarter and a third of its height. Where a size could go either way, smaller means more flying days and a longer life, bigger means more visibility at range.

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 quarter to a third rule holds all the way up, but above about a hundred feet the flag and the flagpole stop being two purchases and become one engineered system: the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load all have to be specified together, and a flag bought without checking the flagpole rating damages the flagpole first. Several famous installations deliberately fly longer than the rule, which is a choice made with an engineer rather than from a chart.

We supply the whole range shown above, whether or not a given size currently has its own listing on the site. Ask if you do not see it.

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

Section 7 of Title 4, the United States Flag Code, addresses this directly: the United States flag is never outranked in position, staying above every other flag and to the right at the same level, which reads as the viewer’s left. Same-height flagpoles put the United States flag on the viewer’s left with matching flag sizes; different heights put it on the taller pole; one flagpole with two flags puts it at the top. There is no legal penalty for civilians under the Flag Code, but it is what every institution follows anyway.

Buy two and they both last longer

One flag flown month after month wears faster at the same point every time; two flags rotated monthly outlast three run to failure, because rest lets fabric recover. Bring the flag in ahead of severe weather — a hard storm overnight can outdo six normal months. And check the fly end first, since that is where fraying starts, and a small stitch repair there is worth a full extra season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

State flags go out to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies as a matter of course. Tax exempt purchasing runs through the tax exempt page, and anything involving quantity, a replacement schedule or a size we do not list goes through the contact page.

Why buy it from us

This company is small and American, and what is on the site is in stock. Every flag here is made in the United States, uses UV resistant ink, and is built to the construction described above rather than priced down to a cheaper build. We would rather you buy one flag that lasts than replace three that do not. Orders over twenty five dollars get free shipping.