Metal Studded Boots in Ultimate

When I started playing Ultimate, there was a rule against wearing metal studs - safety was the reason for this. I was unaware of the rule for quite some time. When I became aware of it, I disagreed with it, mainly because I had previously played rugby and in rugby metal studs were not only allowed but compulsory and plastic studs were not allowed. Safety was also the reason for this. I've been told it's because plastic studs may get damaged and become sharp, whereas the rounded metal surface of the rugby studs will hold their shape and not cut anyone - having played some underage rugby with some guys who wore soccer boots, i'm inclined to agree.


Anyway, the mention of metal studs was removed from the rule which now says "3.4. No player may wear items of clothing or equipment that reasonably could harm the wearer or other players."
I thought mention of metal studs was gone for good, and I was happy about it. Until it showed up in the new interpretations document this year. Where they interpret 'equipment that could harm...' as metal studs. 


The reason I was bothered by this is that metal studs are common in Irish Ultimate, and I worry that someday a teammate of mine will get called on it and won't have a spare pair of boots. 


So i emailed the WFDF rules discussion group to ask about it. Saying more or less what I've said here. Here's the response i got (from Johnathan Potts):

The important thing is that people don't wear dangerous equipment.  If someone is convinced that their metal studs are as safe as plastic studs then they should be allowed to wear them.  I think length of stud is probably more of an issue.  Metal studs have been out and then not explicitly out and then "sort of out" by being placed in interpretations. The language in the interpretations could probably be better worded, but as you say, I don't think we have any clear evidence of what is and isn't relatively safe.

In football & rugby, metal (and plastic) studs are usually tested pre-game by referees to make sure that they are not sharp, as they can easily be sharpened by scraping them on concrete.  Is this an issue in ultimate?  I hope not.

So, perhaps they'll reword the interpretations document next time.  I hope so. The rules committee will have to debate it first though.