Okay... I really like the saw blade idea, and will always cast my ballot in Q's camp. But I doubt they'd make it through tech.
So although my fellow Canadians may strip me of my citizenship for letting out this little piece of information, nothing grips ice quite like broomball shoes. Bet you didn't even know broomball was a sport. (Well, aside from those of you in the other snowy bits of the world.) Mind you, from my experience a key aspect of broomball involves beverages that would be out of place at an FRC competition.... so my impression of the outstanding grip of broomball shoes may be... um... imprecise... at best.
On the other hand, Moon Boots (
http://www.moon-boots.com/) also had very good grip on the ice. I had a pair back in the 80's that not only kept my toes warm in -40 but almost never slipped. Of course, I doubt the ones they make now would be nearly as good. I'm getting old enough to start to be grumpy that way.
Now someone just needs to wrap them around a set of AM or IFI traction wheels and the ice races are on!
Jason
P.S. HDPE = High Density PolyEthylene. Not so different from what 4L milk jugs (I guess gallon jugs for most of the CD community) are made from. A relatively low-fiction polymer (plastic) with almost a waxy finish, usually (but certainly not always) white in colour. It has a longer molecular chain than the Low Density Polyethylene in the milk jugs, and a higher tensile strength, but has a similar feel to it.