Right I've finally got a bit bored of trying to get a decent position for my elderly XT shifters and my new Hope Tech lever (left hand).
CRC have X0 left hands for £45 and Woolly Hat Shop have a pair of x9 for £57.99
If I assume at some point I'll face the same issue on the right hand side, and I'm prepared to change the rear mech then, am I likely to notice much difference between x0 and x9?

PS – other alternatives appreciated, but I've gone backward and forward with my exisiting setup and I can't see it working, with or without shifter windows. I think I'm just too set in my ways to change my hand position too much, it just feels unnatural.

If I remember correctly X0 offers slightly more adjustment than X9. SRAM shifters don't too play nice with Hope levers but Hope do an adapter that fits them together like an Avid Matchmaker I think.

So I'm likely to be no better off? Any recommendation, don't really want to pay for match maker brackets, but I sort of accept that my shifters are pretty old and making them work might be a problem. I've no aversion to Shimano, just looked like SRAm might be less bulky and hence less pf a problem.

I have X9 shifters with Hope Techs with a matchmaker mount.

Cheapest way would be to go for new XT (or even SLX maybe). They fit better with Hope levers than SRAM shifters and you'd be able to keep your current rear mech. If it's still not right, you could get the Hope Shimano Matchmaker at a later date

I had the same issue – (i have hope tech M4's) the hope tech levers are quite bulky and because of the double reservoir (top and bottom) its really difficult to get the spacing right. But as 'warpcow' mentioned the SRAM X0 have good adjustable settings on them – so I decided to combine X0 shifters with Hope Matchmaker Clamps and I certainly made the right decision!!!! The set up for the fingers/hands is excellent and feels completely natural (after a bit of fiddling with the X0 settings). I was very much like you and too'd & froo'd for ages, but this set up was well worth the wait.

fitted my combination bracket 11 months ago. Best way to pair up X.0 & Tech levers IMO.

+1 Hope Matchmaker clamps & X0 shifters, I couldn't get them in a good position without the 2 in 1 clamps. They're a lovely piece of kit. Running X0 instead of X9 gives you the option to adjust the cable tension paddle to your desired position, which I also found necessary

yup, same set up a me. Really unclutters the bars too.

I went through this and ended up with:

£40 for a brand new set of X9s off ebay
£16 for a set of matchmakers off here

not ridden the bike yet but I have a good feeling about it.

Thanks all, looks like matchmakers it is

FBFW – where did you get those red bolts? I need some of them