HMPE fiber with improved bending fatigue performance

A method of making an elongate body comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a plurality of fibers, wherein at least one of said fibers comprises a multifilament ultra-high molecular weight polyolefin fiber having a filament intrinsic viscosity (IVf) of from 15 dl/g to about 45 dl/g when measured in decalin at 135° C., wherein said at least one multifilament ultra-high molecular weight polyolefin fiber has a tenacity of less than 32 g/denier, a denier of greater than 800, and a denier per filament of greater than 2.0;
• b) stretching each multifilament fiber to thereby increase the tenacity of the fibers to at least 32 g/denier, wherein the denier per filament remains greater than 2.0;
• c) optionally coating at least a portion of each fiber with either a thermoplastic resin or an oil;
• d) twisting, entangling and/or braiding the fibers to form an elongate body structure;
• and
• e) optionally heating and stretching the elongate body structure to heat set the fibers of said elongate body.