Honest CBD Lion Review: Pros & Cons (2024)

By | Updated on January 19, 2024

Evidence Based 3

CBD Lion is a Chicago-based CBD brand selling a wide variety of CBD and THC products sourced from organic hemp and tested by a third-party lab. The company does a particularly good job of offering many CBD oil flavors, strengths, and formulas.

Summary

Although CBD Lion is not as well known as top-tier American brands, it’s still a solid option thanks to its impressive product selection.

Pros

  • Extensive product lineup
  • Isolate, broad, and full-spectrum products
  • Third-party testing
  • Multiple potencies and flavors
  • Reasonable prices

Cons

  • Website is a bit outdated
  • Only CBD oils are tested for contaminants
  • Low minor cannabinoids in many products

Overall Rating: 4.1/5

Products 4/5
CBD Lion has a solid product lineup, including different potencies, flavors, and formulas. But the minor cannabinoid content of full and broad-spectrum products is low.
Price & Value 4/5
CBD Lion’s prices are mostly below average, especially considering bundle deals and free shipping. So the value for your money is pretty good.
Hemp Quality 4/5
The company’s products are derived from organic hemp cultivated in Kentucky, Oregon, and Colorado. The only way this hemp could be better is if it had USDA organic certification.
Third-Party Testing 4/5
The company offers potency tests, proving that most products are fairly accurate. However, some test results are outdated, and only CBD oils are tested for contaminants.
Customer Service & Reputation 4.5/5
Although it doesn’t have the strong reputation of leading CBD brands, CBD Lion is a family-run company with overwhelmingly positive customer reviews.

CBD Lion Overview

CBD Lion is a small, family-run CBD vendor based in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The family-run company was founded by Erik Lundgren, Andrew Stepniak, and Katie Lundgren Nauert in 2017.

It offers a wide range of hemp products that include CBD oils, capsules, topicals, gummies, pet formulas, and intoxicating THC products.

CBD Lion’s products are sourced from organic American hemp farms. A third-party laboratory tests them to confirm their potency.

Did you know? Some of CBD Lion’s products have won awards. For example, they won the best edible award at the 2019 CBD West Expo in Anaheim, California.

CBD Glossary

  • Hemp: cannabis variety with high CBD and low THC levels (no more than 0.3%).
  • Terpenes: aromatic plant compounds with various beneficial properties (1).
  • Minor cannabinoids: CBN, CBG, CBC, and other beneficial cannabinoids found in smaller amounts in hemp. They may work in synergy with CBD.
  • Full-spectrum: whole-plant hemp extract containing multiple cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. This form of CBD is about four times more potent than pure CBD (2).
  • Broad-spectrum: whole-plant hemp extract similar to full-spectrum CBD, but with THC removed (may contain trace amounts).
  • CBD isolate: pure CBD without any other hemp compounds.

CBD Lion CBD Products Lineup 

CBD Lion offers a variety of CBD and THC products in multiple potencies and flavors. They’re available in all three types of CBD: isolate, broad-spectrum, and full-spectrum, so you have many options to choose from. There are also multi-product bundles at reduced prices.

CBD Lion Product Lineup

CBD Oil Tinctures

4/5

CBD Potency17-167 mg/ml
Volume15-120 ml 
Total CBD250-20,000 mg
Cost per mg$0.03–0.08
TypeFull & broad-spectrum, isolate
FlavorsMany
Third-Party TestView report

CBD Lion offers CBD oil in all three possible extract types: full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate. Better yet, they’re available in a wide variety of flavors and strengths, making it easy to find the right product for yourself.

The four flavored 1000 mg tinctures are infused with a blend of terpenes either for daytime use or to help you sleep: blueberry (PM), grape (PM), lemon (AM), and strawberry (AM).

But third-party tests show only about 4% minor cannabinoids in the full-spectrum oils, which is low.

CBD Gummies & Edibles

CBD Gummies

4.5/5

CBD Potency25 mg
Gummy Count20-80
Total CBD500-2000 mg
Cost per mg$0.05–0.08
TypeIsolate
Flavors4
Third-Party TestView report

CBD Lion sells gummies containing 25 mg of pure CBD. They come in strawberry, raspberry, and assorted flavors. There’s also a version infused with 3 mg of melatonin for sleep. The gummies are vegan and made with natural flavoring and coloring.

CBD Chocolate

4.5/5

CBD Potency15 mg
Square Count15
Total CBD225 mg
Cost per mg$0.07
TypeFull-spectrum
Varieties2
Third-Party TestNot available

This CBD-infused chocolate comes in dark chocolate and milk chocolate varieties. It’s made with standard chocolate ingredients and stands out for containing full-spectrum rather than pure CBD. But CBD Lion needs to add third-party test results to verify this.

CBD Capsules

4.5/5

CBD Potency30 mg
Capsule Count34
Total CBD1000 mg
Cost per mg$0.06
TypeFull & broad-spectrum
Third-Party TestView report

These vegan gummies come in THC-free and full-spectrum (with 2.5 mg THC) varieties. Third-party tests show about 10% minor cannabinoids for the full-spectrum softgels, which is a good result.

Delta-8 & Delta-9 Products

Delta-8 Tincture

4.5/5

D8 Potency33 mg/ml
Volume30 ml
Total D81000 mg
Cost per mg$0.06
TypeIsolate
Third-Party TestView report

This delta-8 THC tincture contains 1000 mg of pure delta-8.

Delta-8 & 9 Gummies

4.5/5

THC Potency10-25 mg
Gummy Count30
Total THC300-750 mg
Cost per mg$0.07–0.17
TypeIsolate
FlavorsAssorted
Third-Party TestView report

CBD Lion’s hemp-derived delta-8 (25 mg) and delta-9 THC (10 mg) gummies come in assorted flavors of blue raspberry, mango, pineapple, and strawberry. They’re made with vegan ingredients.

Topicals

4/5

CBD Potency17-167 mg/ml
Volume50-100 ml
Total CBD40-1000 mg
Cost per mg$0.07–0.25
TypeFull-spectrum & isolate
FlavorsMany
Third-Party TestView report

You can choose from many topical CBD products, including:

  • CBD Lotion in isolate and full-spectrum formulas
  • CBD roll-on with popular topical pain relievers menthol and lidocaine
  • CBD bath bombs (100 mg) in 5 scents: Charcoal, Citrus, Eucalyptus, Lavender, and Rose
  • CBD patches (40 mg total/10 mg per patch – 4 patches included) with 2% menthol and 4% lidocaine
  • CBD sport strips (80mg total/40mg per strip – 4 strips included) with 2% menthol and 4% lidocaine)
  • CBD sports tape Roll 480mg total (10 feet) with 2% menthol and 4% lidocaine)

While I like the variety, some of these products, like the CBD sports tape, seem a little gimmicky.

Pet Products

Pet CBD Oil

4/5

CBD Potency17 mg/ml
Volume30 ml
Total CBD500 mg
Cost per mg$0.06
TypeIsolate
Flavors3
Third-Party TestView report

This pet CBD oil has unflavored, peanut butter, and turkey flavors. I’d like to see additional strengths added for large dog breeds and either a broad-spectrum or full-spectrum formula.

Pet CBD Treats

4/5

CBD Potency5 mg
Treat Count30
Total CBD150 mg
Cost per mg$0.27
TypeFull-spectrum
Third-Party TestView report

Designed for dogs, these apple-flavored treats contain 5 mg of full-spectrum CBD each. They’re made with vegan, organic ingredients and are gluten-free. But third-party tests don’t show THC or any minor cannabinoids in these treats, except CBDa.

Price & Value

The easiest way to compare the value of CBD products is to divide the total cost by the amount of CBD. For example, if you have a 1500 mg CBD oil that costs $100, its price per milligram (mg) of CBD would be 100/1500 = $0.07. 

You also have to consider that the prices vary by product type. If we break down the prices of CBD Lion’s products, we get:

  • CBD oil: 3-8 cents per mg of CBD
  • Gummies: 5-8 cents per mg
  • Capsules: 6 cents per mg
  • THC products: 6-17 cents per mg
  • Topicals: 7-25 cents per mg
  • Pet products: 6-27 cents per mg

Most of the prices are either close to or below average for each category. You also get added savings from free shipping and buying bundle packs. Overall, the value you get with CBD Lion is pretty good.

Hemp Source and Production Process

CBD Lion sources its products from organic hemp grown in Kentucky, Colorado, and Oregon. These states grow the highest quality hemp in the country, so that’s a great sign.

The company uses both carbon dioxide (CO2) and ethanol extraction to isolate CBD and other beneficial compounds from hemp. These methods are recognized as the safest and most efficient ways to create CBD oil products.

Third-Party Testing 

CBD Lion sends its products to be tested at several labs, including ACS Laboratory, a reputable lab out of Florida. Some tests are also done by Marin Labs, which has received some criticism for inaccurate test results. The tests check the levels of CBD and other cannabinoids.

Additionally, the CBD oils are tested for contaminants, but the test results are not posted publicly.

Third-Party Test Results

I always look at third-party lab test results to confirm that CBD companies sell safe, accurate, and effective products. Specifically, I check for:

  • CBD content, which should be within 10% of the label (3)
  • The levels of THC and minor cannabinoids like CBG and CBN
  • Terpene content (if tested)
  • Whether the CBD type (full, broad-spectrum, or isolate) is accurate
  • Whether there are any contaminants

I checked the most recent certificates of analysis (CoAs) to see how accurate CBD Lion’s products are. Most of the results are solid, but I noticed several issues:

  1. There’s no contaminant testing for most products
  2. Many full and broad-spectrum products are low in minor cannabinoids (which makes them less effective)
  3. The most recent tests for some products are a bit dated
CBD Lion 1000 mg full-spectrum CBD oil CoA

I added a CoA above to give you an example:

  • The 1000 mg full-spectrum CBD oil test found 1142 mg of CBD, which is 14% higher than the label. A decent result, especially since getting more CBD than less is better. However, the tests only found 4% minor cannabinoids, which is low. I expect high-quality full-spectrum products to have at least 10%.

Overall, CBD Lion can improve by improving the minor cannabinoid content of broad and full-spectrum products. It would also be nice to see the contaminant test results for the CBD oils.

Shipping & Returns

CBD Lion ships to the United States for free. If you spend over $75, you get faster UPS shipping (1-4 days delivery). There’s a 30-day return policy with a 30% restocking fee for new, unopened items. 

Customer Service & Reputation

CBD Lion has a solid reputation with its customers. It has over 3,000 customer reviews, giving it 5 stars.

I also like that the company is transparent: it’s a family-run business out of Chicago, founded by the trio of Erik Lundgren, Katie Lundgren Nauert, and Andrew Stepniak.

My Verdict: CBD Lion is a Solid Brand

Although it’s not a top-tier CBD company, CBD Lion is still a solid choice. The company offers a wide variety of products — and CBD oils in particular — to make it easier to find the right flavor, strength, and formula for your needs.

On top of that, CBD Lion is transparent about its manufacturing process and the people behind the company.

But it does have a few areas to improve on. I’d like to see the contaminant testing done for all products, not just oils. Also, the broad and full-spectrum products need higher minor cannabinoid levels (ideally 10% or more) to match up to similar offerings from leading CBD companies.

The website could also use an update to make it easier to navigate.

Overall Rating: 4.1/5

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