diff --git a/tests/e2e/kubetest2-kops/deployer/common.go b/tests/e2e/kubetest2-kops/deployer/common.go
index bba422ba15..f0099ca218 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/kubetest2-kops/deployer/common.go
+++ b/tests/e2e/kubetest2-kops/deployer/common.go
@@ -157,6 +157,19 @@ func (d *deployer) verifyKopsFlags() error {
 		return errors.New("missing required --kops-binary-path when --kops-version-marker is not used")
 	}
 
+	// when we use a binary path, we want to use the corresponding nodeup et.al
+	if d.KopsBinaryPath != "" {
+		baseUrl := os.Getenv("KOPS_BASE_URL")
+		if baseUrl == "" {
+			stageLocation, err := defaultStageLocation(d.KopsRoot)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			d.KopsBaseURL = strings.Replace(stageLocation, "gs://", "https://storage.googleapis.com/", 1)
+		}
+
+	}
+
 	switch d.CloudProvider {
 	case "aws":
 	case "gce":
diff --git a/tests/e2e/scenarios/addon-resource-tracking/run-test.sh b/tests/e2e/scenarios/addon-resource-tracking/run-test.sh
index 5563dd2913..6ffc00a059 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/scenarios/addon-resource-tracking/run-test.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/scenarios/addon-resource-tracking/run-test.sh
@@ -42,8 +42,7 @@ ${KUBETEST2} \
 haveds
 
 # Upgrade to a version that should adopt existing resources and apply the change below
-KOPS_BASE_URL="$(curl -s https://storage.googleapis.com/kops-ci/bin/latest-ci-updown-green.txt)"
-KOPS=$(kops-download-from-base)
+KOPS=$(kops-acquire-latest)
 
 cp "${KOPS}" "${WORKSPACE}/kops"
 
diff --git a/tests/e2e/scenarios/aws-ebs-csi/run-test.sh b/tests/e2e/scenarios/aws-ebs-csi/run-test.sh
index efb68e8e02..a4dfa25988 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/scenarios/aws-ebs-csi/run-test.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/scenarios/aws-ebs-csi/run-test.sh
@@ -17,9 +17,7 @@
 REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel);
 source "${REPO_ROOT}"/tests/e2e/scenarios/lib/common.sh
 
-export KOPS_BASE_URL
-KOPS_BASE_URL="$(curl -s https://storage.googleapis.com/kops-ci/bin/latest-ci-updown-green.txt)"
-KOPS=$(kops-download-from-base)
+KOPS=$(kops-acquire-latest)
 
 OVERRIDES="${OVERRIDES-} --override=cluster.spec.cloudConfig.awsEBSCSIDriver.enabled=true"
 OVERRIDES="$OVERRIDES --override=cluster.spec.snapshotController.enabled=true"
diff --git a/tests/e2e/scenarios/lib/common.sh b/tests/e2e/scenarios/lib/common.sh
index e3073084c0..bd4c32a1db 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/scenarios/lib/common.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/scenarios/lib/common.sh
@@ -22,10 +22,6 @@ set -o xtrace
 echo "CLOUD_PROVIDER=${CLOUD_PROVIDER}"
 echo "CLUSTER_NAME=${CLUSTER_NAME}"
 
-if [[ -n "${KOPS_BASE_URL-}" ]]; then
-    unset KOPS_BASE_URL
-fi
-
 if [[ -z "${WORKSPACE-}" ]]; then
     export WORKSPACE
     WORKSPACE=$(mktemp -dt kops.XXXXXXXXX)
@@ -61,7 +57,7 @@ if [[ -z "${AWS_SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE-}" ]]; then
     export AWS_SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE="${HOME}/.ssh/id_rsa.pub"
 fi
 
-KUBETEST2="kubetest2 kops -v=2 --cloud-provider=${CLOUD_PROVIDER} --cluster-name=${CLUSTER_NAME:-}"
+KUBETEST2="kubetest2 kops -v=2 --cloud-provider=${CLOUD_PROVIDER} --cluster-name=${CLUSTER_NAME:-} --kops-root=${REPO_ROOT}"
 KUBETEST2="${KUBETEST2} --admin-access=${ADMIN_ACCESS:-} --env=KOPS_FEATURE_FLAGS=${KOPS_FEATURE_FLAGS}"
 
 # Always tear-down the cluster when we're done
@@ -97,6 +93,21 @@ function kops-base-from-marker() {
     fi
 }
 
+# This function will download the latest kops if in a periodic job, otherwise build from the current tree
+function kops-acquire-latest() {
+    if [[ "${JOB_TYPE-}" == "periodic" ]]; then
+        export KOPS_BASE_URL
+        KOPS_BASE_URL="$(curl -s https://storage.googleapis.com/kops-ci/bin/latest-ci-updown-green.txt)"
+        kops-download-from-base
+    else
+         if [[ -n "${KOPS_BASE_URL-}" ]]; then
+            unset KOPS_BASE_URL
+         fi
+         $KUBETEST2 --build >&2
+         echo .bazelbuild/dist/linux/amd64/kops
+    fi
+}
+
 function kops-up() {
     local create_args
     create_args="--networking ${NETWORKING} ${OVERRIDES-}"