Microcellular (MC) soles based on polybutadiene (BR) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blends for low-temperature applications were developed. A part of BR in BR-LDPE blend was replaced by natural rubber (NR) for property improvement. The BR-NR-LDPE blend-based MC sole shows good technical properties. Sulphur curing and DCP curing were tried in BR-LDPE and NR-BR-LDPE blends. Study shows that sulphur-cured MC sheets possess better technical properties than DCP-cured MC sheets. 90/10 BR-LDPE and 60/30/10 BR-NR-LDPE blend combinations are found to be suitable for low-temperature applications. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.