FORTISVEX Hawaii State Flag 8x12 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Rope and Thimbles

An 8x12 foot flag is institutional. Ninety six square feet goes on a forty to fifty foot flagpole outside a civic building, a campus, a large commercial site. It is not a flag anybody buys by accident.

This is the Hawaii state flag at 8x12 Feet in nylon, made in the United States, finished with rope and thimbles.

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 25 May 1845, and retained at statehood in 1959.

We reproduce it to that specification rather than to an approximation of it. If you are going to fly a state’s colors, they should be the state’s colors.

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 genuinely uncertain, either Alexander Adams or George Beckley, and anyone who states it flatly is guessing.

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

The fly end is where every flag fails

Six rows of lock stitching on the fly end, and the corners are zig zag stitched rather than run straight, because a straight seam at a corner can be worked open by the wind over a season.

Lock stitching means each stitch is knotted into the next, so a broken thread stops where it broke. A chain stitch, which is faster and cheaper to sew, unzips along the whole seam from one break. Row count is the other half of it: 6 rows does not mean 6 times the strength, it means 5 backups.

The part that takes all the load

The grommets are gone at this size. A nylon rope is sewn the full length of the heading with two plated steel thimbles, so the load runs through the rope rather than tearing at two fixed points.

Commercial grade nylon

Nylon is the right cloth for most sites. 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, slowly and unevenly, and the ink is the part that 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 an in-ground flagpole of forty to fifty feet, on a truck and halyard rather than a bracket.

Why the grommets disappear

Two grommets concentrate ninety six square feet of pull onto two small brass rings. A rope sewn the length of the heading spreads that load across the entire hoist and lets the thimbles take the attachment. It is more expensive to build and it is the only way a flag this size survives.

Specifications

• Size: 8x12 Feet
• Area: 96 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 6 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 2 inch
• Finish: Rope and Thimbles
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

The rule behind both tables below is that a flag’s length should run about a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. Where two sizes both fit, the smaller one flies more often and lasts longer, and the larger one reads from further away.

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 Feet and above: 15x25 Feet and larger, 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 Feet and above
• 20x30 Feet, 20x38 Feet, 30x50 Feet, 30x60 Feet and 50x80 Feet are available to order

We carry the full range whether or not every size appears on this website. If the size you need is not listed, we can still supply it.

About the back of the flag

A printed flag reads correctly from the front and reversed from the back. That is normal and it is true of almost every flag flown in the country. A flag that reads correctly from both sides is a double sided flag, built as two flags sewn together with a liner between them, and it costs roughly twice as much and weighs roughly twice as much. Unless the statute for a particular state requires it, single sided is the standard and the right choice.

Flying it with the United States flag

The United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 7, governs this. No other flag goes above the United States flag, or to its right when on the same level, which is the viewer’s left. On two flagpoles of the same height the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and both flags should be the same size. If the flagpoles differ in height, the United States flag goes on the taller one. On a single flagpole carrying two flags the United States flag goes at the top. The Flag Code is advisory for civilians and carries no penalty, but it is the standard every institution follows.

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 cloth 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

We supply state flags to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies. Tax exempt accounts are handled through the tax exempt page. For quantities, replacement schedules or sizes not listed, use the contact page.

Why buy it from us

We are a small American company and we stock what we sell. Every flag here is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and finished to the construction described above rather than to a price point. We would rather sell you one flag that lasts than three that do not. Free shipping on orders over twenty five dollars.