If you've spent any time in the Convoy S2+ modding scene, you already know the stock aluminum tube is just a starting point. Convoy sells the S2+ shorty tube — the short body that lets you run an 18350 cell instead of the stock 18650 — in five finishes: standard aluminum, brass, copper, titanium, and the blacked-out MAO. Swapping between them doesn't touch your electronics. Your driver, emitter, and mode groups stay exactly the same. What changes is the host: how the light feels in your hand, how it ages over the next few years, and what you pay up front.
Here's how to actually pick one.
Why People Do This Swap
The S2+ is popular precisely because it's a cheap, well-supported host for building the light you actually want, and the tube is one of the easiest places to start. Going shorty with an 18350 cell shrinks the light into something closer to a keychain light while trading away some runtime, and once you're already ordering a shorter tube, picking the finish costs you nothing extra in effort — just a few dollars difference in price.
The Stock Aluminum Tube ($4.99)
This is the baseline for a reason. It's light, it's inexpensive, and it does the job with zero drawbacks. If you're building a beater light for the truck, the tackle box, or anywhere you don't want to think twice about losing it, stay with aluminum and put your budget into the electronics side of the mod instead — a 519A driver or a brighter emitter will change your experience with the light far more than the tube will.
Brass ($5.99)
Brass is the gateway upgrade for anyone who wants to feel a difference without spending real money. It's noticeably heavier than aluminum, and that added heft is the whole point — it makes a compact EDC light feel substantial in the pocket instead of like a toy. Brass also develops a patina as it oxidizes and gets handled: some people love that aged, worn-in look, and if you don't, a quick polish brings the shine right back. At a dollar over aluminum, it's the easiest upgrade on this list to justify.
Copper ($12.99)
Copper is brass's heavier, pricier cousin. It's denser, so the weight jump is even more obvious in hand, and it patinas faster and darker than brass — copper EDC gear is known for going from shiny-penny bright to deep chocolate brown within weeks of regular pocket carry. It also conducts heat better than brass or aluminum, which barely matters on a low-draw light like the S2+ but is the same reason copper shows up constantly in high-output modding circles. If you want a tube that visibly ages on purpose, copper gets there fastest.
Titanium ($12.99)
Titanium is the outlier on this list. It's lighter than brass or copper, stronger than all three, and effectively immune to corrosion — no patina, no polishing, ever. It comes in glossy and stone-washed finishes for the S2+ tube specifically because titanium doesn't need the protective treatment the other metals benefit from over time. The tradeoff is that it skips the "aging in your pocket" character people like about copper or brass. You're paying for durability and a premium in-hand feel, not for a tube that tells a story.
Which One Should You Actually Buy
Want a heavier, better-in-hand light without spending much? Brass. Want a conversation piece that visibly changes character with daily carry? Copper. Want the toughest, most corrosion-proof tube and don't care about patina? Titanium. Building a beater, or just don't have a strong opinion? Keep the stock aluminum tube and spend the difference upgrading the driver instead.
Check Your Threads Before You Order
Every finish is cut to the same shorty-tube spec, so fit doesn't change between brass, copper, and titanium — but it does vary by host generation. Pull the head or tail off your Convoy S2+ and count the threads. Four threads means you're good to go. Five threads means this tube won't fit your particular host. It takes ten seconds and it's the single most common reason a tube order gets sent back. The same tubes also fit the Convoy S6, so if you're running both lights, one compatibility check covers you for either.
What You'll Need Alongside It
Going shorty means running an 18350 cell instead of your stock 18650, so make sure you've actually got one on hand before the new tube shows up — check our 18350 Batteries collection if you need to add one to the order. And if you haven't picked up your S2+ yet, the base Convoy S2+ 18650 Flashlight is the light all of this is built around.
Bottom Line
There's no wrong answer here as long as your threads match. Aluminum is the sensible default, brass is the best value-for-money upgrade, copper ages the most dramatically, and titanium is the buy-it-once option for people who'd rather not think about their tube again. Start with the titanium finish if you want the no-maintenance option, or browse the full lineup — tubes, drivers, tail switches, and gaskets — in our Convoy Flashlight Parts & Accessories collection.