FORTISVEX Rhode Island State Flag 5x8 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

This is commercial territory: a thirty foot flagpole outside a dealership, a bank, a fire station, a church, a school. Homeowners choose it too, when their flagpole is tall enough to make a 4x6 foot flag look undersized.

This is the Rhode Island state flag at 5x8 Feet (40 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Rhode Island flag specification

The Rhode Island flag is set out in the Rhode Island General Laws provisions on the state flag. It is a white field with a gold anchor encircled by thirteen gold stars and a blue ribbon carrying the motto Hope.

The current design was adopted in 1897.

Rhode Island General Laws Section 42-4-3 gives five feet six inches by four feet ten inches and then adds the words, or in these proportions. The statute authorizes scaling in as many words.

We reproduce that design faithfully, in the standard outdoor flag sizes the whole industry uses and that the states themselves buy. What matters on an outdoor flag is that the colors, the seal and the emblems are right, and they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Rhode Island General Laws Section 42-4-3 reads:

The flag of the state shall be white, five feet and six inches fly and four feet and ten inches deep on the pike, bearing on each side in the center a gold anchor, twenty-two inches high, and underneath it a blue ribbon twenty-four inches long and five inches wide, or in these proportions, with the motto "Hope" in golden letters thereon, the whole surrounded by thirteen (13) golden stars in a circle. The flag shall be edged with yellow fringe. The pike shall be surmounted by a spearhead and the length of the pike shall be nine feet, not including the spearhead.

The statute writes the measurements with foot and inch marks in parentheses; they are spelled out here.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Rhode Island General Laws Section 42-4-3 in full at Justia, and check what we sell against it.

This is the flag we make. Not an approximation of it.

What is on it and what it means

The anchor is hope, a colonial symbol used since the seventeenth century. The thirteen stars are the original states and Rhode Island as one of them.

Worth knowing about this flag

It is one of only a handful of state flags on a white field, and it is normally made with gold fringe, which is part of the specification rather than an optional extra.

Where the Rhode Island flag flies

No citizen state capitol program was confirmed. the white state flag flies over one of the world's largest self supported marble domes. On Rhode Island Independence Day, the fourth of May, commemorating the 1776 Act of Renunciation in which Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce allegiance to King George the Third, the Department of State opens the State House on a special Saturday, encourages residents to display the state flag, and sells large Rhode Island flags at the State House Visitor's Center. The original Act of Renunciation is held by the Department of State and viewable at the State Archives.

Fly it on Rhode Island’s birthday

Rhode Island became the 13th state on May 29, 1790. 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 Rhode Island flag has an official reason to go up.

Buy it in time and it goes up on the day it matters. Every state’s date is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Rhode Island

Polyester leans favorable given near total coastal and Narragansett Bay salt exposure and wind at Providence. Nylon only well inland.

The heading takes real load at forty square feet in any gust, and the exposed sites above will reveal the difference between nylon and polyester within a season.

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.

Here is the part usually learned the hard way, after a second purchase: nylon catches wind on days polyester simply will not move. When the flag needs to be visibly flying — a quiet morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that argues for nylon even on a site where polyester would technically last longer. A flag that just hangs there is not doing its job either.

Most institutions work from the same benchmark, reported by the American Legion: the United States government's expectation is roughly ninety days for a flag flown daily sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that for one flown around the clock. In practice, retailers report three to six months for nylon flown daily, four to eight for polyester, and one to three years for a flag flown only on occasions. These are working numbers, not a guarantee, and exposure can move them substantially either way.

How the 5x8 Feet is built

Forty square feet is real work for a flag, and this one fails where everyone can see it. A frayed tip on a business flagpole shows from the road — which is exactly why the flag is flying.

The arithmetic behind that: 40 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.

Two people is easier than one at this size, particularly on a windy site. Forty square feet of loose material catches wind while you are folding it.

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. This size steps the heading up to two inches, heavy duty white and reinforced, with brass grommets and tooth washers. Forty square feet in a gust pulls hard, and that extra half inch of heading earns its place.

This is commercial grade nylon: light enough to fly in a light wind, quick to shed water instead of holding it, and fast to dry, which matters because a waterlogged flag is a heavier flag putting more strain on its seams. UV resistant, field tested ink is what fights the sun, which is the real driver of color loss over time.

A design that reproduces cleanly

An anchor, thirteen stars and a short motto. No seal, which keeps it well clear of the expensive end, though the white ground shows soiling.

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 Rhode Island flag placed 28, at 6.12 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

It suits an in-ground flagpole of twenty five to thirty five feet. This is the standard commercial pairing.

Questions about the 5x8 Feet

What size flagpole for a 5x8 foot flag? Twenty five to thirty five feet in the ground, which is the standard commercial flagpole. This is the size on most dealerships, banks and fire stations.

Should a business choose nylon or polyester at 5x8 Feet? Nylon flies more often and looks better on a calm day. Polyester lasts longer on an open, windy or coastal site. The section above names which your state is.

How often does a 5x8 foot commercial flag need replacing? A flag flown daily on an exposed commercial flagpole is typically replaced two to four times a year. A rotation of two flags swapped monthly stretches that.

What the condition of it says

People see the flag before they see the building it stands in front of. A worn, faded flag on a business flagpole sends a message, and that message costs something different from the price of a replacement.

Specifications

• Size: 5x8 Feet
• Area: 40 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 4 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 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

Push the flagpole past a hundred feet and the same ratio still applies, but it stops being a simple lookup: the flag, the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load need to be engineered as a unit, and skipping that step damages the flagpole before it damages the flag. A number of famous large flags deliberately break the rule of thumb, on an engineer’s word rather than a table’s.

What is on the website is not the limit of what we carry. Any size in the tables above can be ordered, listed or not.

About the back of the flag

Every printed flag looks right from one side and mirrored from the other, and that is simply how the overwhelming majority of American flags are built. Making both sides read correctly means building what is really two flags stitched together over a liner, at roughly twice the price and twice the weight. Single sided is the standard, and it is the right choice unless a state’s statute specifically requires otherwise.

Flying it with the United States flag

This is governed by the United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 7: the United States flag always outranks every other flag in position, never displayed below it or to its right at the same level — right from the viewer’s side, that is. Two flagpoles of equal height place the United States flag at the viewer’s left with both flags the same size; if the poles differ in height, it goes on the taller pole; on one pole flying two flags, it sits at the top. The Flag Code carries no penalty for private citizens, but institutions treat it as the standard.

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

Fire and police departments, school districts, courthouses, municipalities and state agencies are all regular buyers of our state flags. Tax exempt purchasing is set up through the tax exempt page, and quantities, replacement schedules or an unlisted size are handled 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.