please name some budget tube style throwers

I wasn’t aware that Convoy now sold a XP-L HI version of the S2. Honestly, that might be worth trying out. The only downside I see is that I’m not a big fan of the stock Convoy firmware. Some don’t mind, and you could change that later if desired.

And yes, building it will likely be more expensive than buying in this case. XP-L LEDs aren’t cheap, and you would usually buy them on a DTP copper board, also more expensive than what comes stock. Getting the parts from MtnE would likely come in at $25 plus shipping. But then you could get a higher binned LED on copper, your choice of firmware, faster shipping (from US), and helping support a member here (RMM).

About the dedomed XM-L2 vs XP-L HI… it’s roughly the same. The die of the two are the same. Biggest difference is the footprint size. And the HI is “factory dedomed” so you’re not gambling with the tint when you dedome it yourself. Oh, and I don’t​ think you can get a SMO reflector in the S2 to fit the XM footprint.

Think its only been sold for a week or two.

That’s kinda funny, I bought most of the pieces to build this light (but with a different driver/UI) from these guys but haven’t put it together yet.