The four Koi topicals

Koi Full Spectrum CBD Balm 3000mg — 9.5

3000mg of full-spectrum CBD in one jar at $99.99. That is 3.3¢ per milligram, which is not just the best value in Koi’s catalogue but competitive against almost any topical on the market at this concentration.

Full spectrum matters more in a topical than most people assume — you are getting the minor cannabinoids and terpenes alongside the CBD rather than isolate suspended in a base. Koi builds it on more than a dozen natural oils, so it goes on as a proper balm rather than a greasy film, and the scent is restrained enough to use before work.

The only reason not to buy this is if $99.99 up front is more than you want to commit before knowing whether topical CBD does anything for you. In that case buy the 500mg standard balm to find out, then come back here — do not buy the 1000mg standard, which costs 70¢ per hundred milligrams more for a weaker extract.

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Koi Dragon Balm — 9.0

1865mg of CBD with 135mg of THC, at $79.99. The THC is the point. A small amount of THC in a topical changes how the formulation behaves on skin, and this is the only Koi topical that includes it.

The base is peppermint and eucalyptus with a warming-then-cooling profile, and it melts on contact rather than sitting on the surface. It is the Koi topical we would choose for post-training soreness or a specific joint, over the general-purpose full-spectrum balm.

Two caveats. The scent is assertive — this is not a discreet product. And while topical THC is very unlikely to produce a positive drug test, we would not describe the risk as zero for anyone under a strict testing regime; see does hemp THC show up on a drug test.

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Koi CBD Roll-On Gel — 8.7

Broad-spectrum CBD with a blend of 19 essential oils in a no-mess roll-on applicator, in 500mg at $39.99 and 1500mg at $79.99. The gel format is cooling on application, which the balms are not, and the applicator means you can use it without getting product on your hands.

Buy the 1500mg. At 5.3¢ per milligram it is a third cheaper than the 500mg, and a roll-on is the sort of thing that ends up in a gym bag and gets used steadily rather than saved.

This is the practical, everyday member of the range — the one that gets used on a neck or a shoulder in the middle of a working day. It is not as concentrated as the full-spectrum balm and it is not meant to be.

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Koi CBD Balm (standard) — 8.0

The original: PRIZM broad-spectrum CBD in a balm base of more than a dozen oils, in 150mg at $19.99, 500mg at $39.99 and 1000mg at $69.99. Third-party tested like everything else in the range.

Nothing is wrong with it. The formulation is good and the broad-spectrum extract means effectively no THC, which matters to some buyers. It simply loses to its own siblings on value at every size, and the 150mg jar at 13.3¢ per milligram is the single worst-value item in the Koi catalogue.

Buy the 500mg as a trial. Do not buy the 150mg unless you genuinely only want to test the texture, and do not buy the 1000mg at all — for $30 more the full-spectrum 3000mg gives you three times the cannabinoid and a better extract.

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The size trap

Koi’s topical pricing rewards commitment steeply. The same brand, on the same day, sells CBD in a jar at anywhere from 3.3¢ to 13.3¢ per milligram depending purely on which size you pick up — a four-fold spread.

The practical rule: buy the largest size you will realistically finish. Topicals do not spoil quickly and a balm jar lasts a long time. Our price per milligram guide explains the arithmetic, and shelf life and storage covers how long that actually is.

If a promotion is running, this is the category to spend it on — a BOGO on the 3000mg balm is an absurd amount of cannabinoid for the money. Current codes are on our Koi coupon page.