Q1. Can a Hope XC un 1 Shimano 10 speed – I think the answer is yes.

Q2. XT or shall I save some pennies & go SLX ?

Q3. I am already on a RaceFace n/w with the front mech as a retention device. Can I save more & not go shadow+ ?

Yes 9 & 10 sp are the same freehub, it’s only the XD 11sp that changes
How is your freehub? Is SLX going to chew it up
Maybe

why would SLX chew it up ?

Hub should be fine , if its an old hope xc the hub body will either be steel so you can use any cassette or it will be ti which is a lot better than the modern alloy pro 11 hub bodies.

High end cassettes have most of the cogs on a alloy carrier , cheaper ones have the steel cogs in contact with the hub body and can start to eat into in.

Hope recomend with the ti and the alloy hub bodies to only use xtr , xt , or the high end sram equivalent pg990 etc

I’m using SRAM X0 2/10 on 2003 Hope XC hubs without any problems at all.

Yup it’s fine with an SLX cassette.

Shadow+ is worth it regardless. If you need a new mech you way as well, it’s only a tenner or so more, use the money saved getting an SLX rather than XT cassette.

cheers guys – now to get shopping (again)

I’ve thought up another question:

so I have a 30T chain ring & will have 11-36 cassette with possible upgrade with that Hope 40T wimp out gear.

Can I run a medium cage or do I need a long cage ?

You can run a short cage! (certainly if using the 36 rear cog max, and unofficially with a 40t).