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

The 5x8 foot flag belongs on a thirty foot commercial flagpole — a dealership, a bank, a fire station, a church, a school. It also suits a homeowner whose flagpole is too tall for a 4x6 foot flag to fill properly.

This is the Alaska state flag at 5x8 Feet (40 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.

What we build is a faithful reproduction of that design, sized to the standard outdoor sizes every manufacturer uses and the states themselves order in. On an outdoor flag, the colors, the seal and the emblems are what has to be right, and here 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.

This is the actual flag we manufacture, not an approximation.

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.

Buy it now and it is on the flagpole for the day. The full list of state birthdays is 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.

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 is the nylon listing, suited to the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, to any house bracket, and to anywhere you bring the flag in during storms. Two factors drive that choice. Nylon is light, catching the breeze most yards actually get instead of hanging still, and it dries quickly, which is what keeps mildew at bay in humid air. The cost is ultraviolet life: nylon’s amide bonds absorb and break under ultraviolet exposure, fading faster than polyester, and it loses about a tenth of its strength wet. On one of the exposed sites named above, look instead at the polyester version.

There is one more factor, and most people only discover it after buying the wrong material once: a nylon flag moves on days a polyester flag stays limp. If it matters to you that the flag is actually flying on a still morning, a holiday, at a funeral, at a ceremony, that favors nylon even where polyester would outlast it. A flag hanging motionless has failed at its job too.

The figure most institutions use is from the American Legion, citing the United States government's expectation of about ninety days for a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset, and roughly a quarter of that around the clock. Retailers see three to six months in practice for nylon flown daily, four to eight for polyester, and one to three years when flown occasionally. These are practical figures, not a guarantee, and real-world exposure shifts them considerably.

How the 5x8 Feet is built

At this size the flag works hard, and any failure happens in public: a frayed tip on a business flagpole reads from the road, the same place the flag was meant to be seen from.

The math comes to 40 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.

Two people handle this more easily than one, especially on a windy site, since forty square feet of unsecured fabric catches wind during folding.

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 widens to two inches here, heavy duty white and reinforced, with two solid brass grommets and tooth washers. Forty square feet in a gust is a serious pull on a heading, and the extra half inch is not decoration.

The material here is commercial grade nylon. Its lightness lets it fly on a gentle breeze, it sheds rather than absorbs water, and it dries quickly, sparing the seams the extra weight and strain of staying wet. Field tested UV resistant ink handles the part that actually determines fade life: sun exposure.

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?

An in-ground flagpole of twenty five to thirty five feet is the pairing most commercial sites use for this size.

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

That same ratio keeps working past a hundred feet, but at that point the flag and the flagpole are no longer separate purchases — the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load all have to be sized together, and a flag chosen without checking the flagpole first damages the pole rather than itself. A handful of well known installations deliberately run past the rule of thumb, and every one of them did it with an engineer, not a chart.

The full range is available to order even where a size is not shown on the site. If what you need is not listed here, ask and we can still get it made.

About the back of the flag

It is normal for a printed flag to read backward from behind — almost every flag flown in America works this way. A flag that reads correctly from both sides is double sided: two flags sewn together with a liner, at roughly double the weight and cost. Single sided stays the standard and the right choice except where a state’s own law requires the double sided build.

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

Two flags, alternated month to month, beat three flags flown until they fall apart, because the material recovers on its days off and the fly end is not worked in the same place every day. Severe weather is the one time to take it down; a real windstorm can cost more in one night than six ordinary months of flying. Fraying starts at the fly end, not the middle, and a few minutes with a needle there adds a 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 company based in America, and we keep in stock what we sell. Every flag is made domestically, printed in UV resistant ink, and finished to the construction described above rather than scaled down to a price. Selling a flag that lasts matters more to us than selling three that don’t. Orders over twenty five dollars ship free.