How to Prevent Flag From Wrapping Around Pole

Small or large and hanging vertically, horizontally or in degrees, a flag flying in the wind has come to symbolize many things, from patriotism to favorite holidays. The greatest problem that owners face when dealing with the display of a flag comes from wrapping or furling of the a flag around or over the top of the flagpole. Innovative inventors over the years have approached this problem many ways, including preventing wrapping by using spinning or rotating flagpole or collar systems.

Spinning flagpole or kit

Electric drill/screwdriver

Rotating collars system or kit

Purchase a spinning or rotating flagpole or kit for mount/bracket-style flagpole systems. Spinning flagpoles have ball-bearing joints that allow an entire flagpole, or top half, to spin so the flag doesn't wrap around the pole.

Full-spin poles have ball bearings inside the bracket that a pin rests on. The bracket never pivots or moves during a high wind. Instead, the pole turns on the pin, which moves on the bearings.

Top-half spin poles have a bearing joint at midpoint on the pole. The bottom half of the pole never spins. Instead, the top half of the pole spins at the midpoint joint.

Pick a location for your flagpole and attach the bracket using your electric drill and/or screwdriver.

Attach your flag to the flagpole. To use a sleeve-style system, slide the flag onto the pole and attach to a flag tie located at the pole end or create a sleeve by wrapping and snapping the flag onto the pole. To use a side-style system, attach the flag to the side with flag ties or stationary collars with split rings.

Mount the pin onto the bracket and then mount the flagpole onto the pin.

Use a rotating collars system. Unlike spinning flagpoles, in a rotating collar system, collars located below and above stationary bands--mounted on existing poles or pre-mounted in a kit--rotate on the pole. When winds whip a flag about, the entire flag, attached via split rings to the collars, rotates around the pole, which remains stationary.

Install the bottom collar. Remove any ornaments from the top of the pole and slide the bottom collar, split ring end first, over the top. If using a pre-mounted kit, simply attach your flag to the split rings and install the pole.

Slide the two stationary bands onto the pole and follow with the top collar--the split ring end sliding last over the top of the pole. Replace any ornaments.

Push the top collar and band to the top of the pole 1/4 inch from any ornament or the top of the pole. Move the band to a position 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the bottom of the collar and tighten the band screw to secure the band into place on the pole. If completed correctly, the top collar should rotate around, floating above the stationary band.

Loop the top collar split ring through the top eyelet (grommet) of your flag. On some models, you may need to attach the split ring to the collar or to a stationary split ring pre-attached to the collar before looping the ring through the flag eyelet.

Push the bottom collar up the pole and attach the split ring on the collar to the flag's bottom eyelet. Position the collar so the flag hangs with 1 to 1 1/2 inches slack in it and then tighten the band screw.