The Desk PairHelm + Cove$45.27$50.30
Knurle / Helm
For a clear head
Helm Daily Mental Clarity
- Six botanicals: gotu kola, bacopa, astragalus, cistanche, pine bark and Panax ginseng.
- One capsule a day: thirty in the bottle, thirty days.
- 231 mg blend: the total is printed on the label.
- No caffeine: a daily habit, not a jolt.
6
Ingredients
1
Cap a day
30
Day supply
1
Blend
$26.4030 capsules · 30-day supply · about 88¢ a day
Add $50.00 more for free US shipping
$0.00 / $50.00
Made in the USA in an FDA-registered, GMP-certified facility. Ships from Colorado.
Buy it with
Gluten freeLactose freeNo added hormones
What this actually is
Helm is six plants in one small capsule: gotu kola, bacopa, astragalus, cistanche, maritime pine bark and Panax ginseng. Most of them have been in somebody's kitchen cupboard for a very long time.
They arrive together as one 231 mg blend, and the label prints that total. Gotu kola and bacopa are the two in the name, with the pine bark standardised to 65% proanthocyanidins.
One a day, thirty in the bottle, so one bottle is one month. There is no caffeine in it, which makes Helm a calm sort of morning habit. Take it with a glass of water, somewhere near the kettle.*
Where it is made
Made in the United States in an FDA-registered, GMP-certified facility, then packed and posted from Arvada, Colorado. The address on the label is ours, and there is usually a dog in the building.
Made in the USA
FDA-registered facilityGMP certifiedEvery dose printedOne job per bottleThird-party tested
FDA-registered facilityGMP certifiedEvery dose printedOne job per bottleThird-party testedThe short version
Twenty seconds, one capsule with a face.
Pip walks through what is in the bottle and how much of it, straight off the label. Sound is off until you tap it, which we think is only polite.
Per capsule serving
Here it is, drawn to scale.
Six botanicals in one blend, and the blend is what the label prints: 231 mg for the six together. Tap the card for the full cast.
Ingredient, per capsule% Daily Value
** Daily Value not established. Other ingredients: gelatin (capsule), microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate, MCT oil, silicon dioxide.
How to take it.
No loading phase, no cycling, no chart on the fridge. One capsule and a glass of water.
One capsule, one glass of water
Six to eight ounces does it. Morning is the popular spot.
Same time, most days
Pin it to the kettle or the morning coffee. Turning up is the whole trick.
Somewhere cool and dry
Not the bathroom. Skip it if the seal is broken. Keep out of reach of children.
Reviews4.7 · 7 reviews
Real customers, verified where marked. The whole spread is here, so have a proper scroll.
4.7★★★★★7 reviews
100%would recommend itrated it four stars or better
7 showing
★★★★★
Helps clear the afternoon brain fog
Working as a software developer, I struggle with cognitive fatigue around 3 PM. Helm keeps my mind crisp without caffeine overload.
★★★★★
Noticeable boost in deep focus
I take one capsule with my morning tea. It feels much easier to stay in the zone during intensive writing and research sessions.
★★★★☆
Good results, capsule is a bit large
Mental sharpness is definitely improved and words come easier in client meetings. Just wish the capsule was slightly smaller.
★★★★★
Clean nootropic support
Very smooth focus. No irritability or restlessness like some other focus supplements tend to trigger.
★★★★★
Incredible value for the price
Most cognitive supplements cost $40 or more. Helm is reasonably priced at $26.40 and delivers steady, reliable mental clarity.
★★★★★
Part of my daily workday stack
On my second bottle now. It keeps me locked in and productive throughout busy client presentation days without any jitters.
★★★★☆
Solid for coding blocks
Helps reduce context switching friction when I have to review complex pull requests. Taste is completely neutral. Solid 4/5 daily nootropic.
The studies behind it.
Four papers worth knowing about, written up in plain English. They test the ingredients rather than this exact bottle, and where that difference matters we have said so.
01
Bacopa takes its time
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial gave healthy adults 300 mg of a bacopa extract a day and tested them at the start, at five weeks and at twelve. By week twelve the bacopa group was quicker at taking in visual information and better at learning and holding on to word lists.
How strong3/5
The catchThe effects were biggest at twelve weeks, so bacopa is a slow starter. The trial used 300 mg of bacopa extract on its own. Helm's whole six-plant blend is 231 mg.
02
Nine bacopa trials, added up
A meta-analysis gathered nine randomised trials with 518 people, 437 of them in the pooled numbers. Bacopa extract shaved 17.9 milliseconds off a trail-making test and 10.6 off choice reaction time. Every trial ran for at least twelve weeks and used a standardised extract.
How strong3/5
The catchMilliseconds, not miracles. These trials used standardised bacopa extracts at their own doses, which is not the same thing as the bacopa powder inside a blend.
03
Gotu kola and the over-sixties
Twenty-eight healthy older volunteers took a gotu kola extract at 250, 500 or 750 mg once a day for two months, double-blind against placebo. The high dose improved working memory, and people rated their own mood better while taking it.
How strong2/5
The catchTwenty-eight people is a dinner party, not a census, and the result came at the high dose. Helm's entire blend is smaller than the lowest dose tested here.
04
Pine bark, for three months
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial matched 101 healthy adults aged 60 to 85 in pairs and gave half of them 150 mg of maritime pine bark extract a day for three months. Working memory improved, and a blood marker of oxidative stress came down.
How strong3/5
The catchThat was 150 mg of one branded pine bark extract. In Helm, pine bark is one of six plants sharing 231 mg, so the amount is smaller.
Shipping.
Everything is made and packed in the United States, and your order sets off from a facility in Colorado. Free US shipping once you spend $50.
United States
2-4business daysby USPS
$5.95 standard, $10.99 express
Free over $50. USPS Ground Advantage in 2 to 4 business days, or Priority in 1 to 3. Alaska and Hawaii are not served yet.
Canada
3-5business daysby FedEx
$19.95
FedEx, typically 3 to 5 business days. Any duties are paid on delivery, not by us.
Rest of world
3-5business daysby FedEx
$26.00
Australia, New Zealand, Macau, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. FedEx, 3 to 5 business days, duties paid on delivery.
Helm ships to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Macau, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It does not ship to Europe or the UK.
Things people ask.
01When should I take Helm?
One capsule a day with 6-8 oz of water. Morning is the popular spot, since most people like their thinking hat on before lunch. Same time most days is the part that matters.
02What is in Helm, and how much?
Six botanicals in one 231 mg blend: gotu kola powder, astragalus root extract, bacopa powder, cistanche stem extract, maritime pine bark extract standardised to 65% proanthocyanidins, and Panax ginseng root powder. Our manufacturer prints the blend as a total, so the label shows 231 mg for the six together rather than each plant on its own.
03Will I feel it straight away?
Helm is not a stimulant and there is no caffeine in it, so do not wait for a whoosh. In the bacopa trials the changes researchers measured showed up at around twelve weeks, which is a patient sort of timescale.
04Is Helm vegetarian?
No. The capsule is gelatin. Haven, Trim and Spark use vegetable capsules, if that is what you are after.
05Why is there no %DV on the label?
Because no Daily Value has been established for these botanicals. They are plants rather than vitamins or minerals, so there is no official reference amount to take a percentage of. The label shows ** for that reason.
06Should anyone skip it?
Talk to your clinician first if you are pregnant, nursing, under 18, managing a condition or taking prescription medicine. Ginseng and some of the other botanicals can interact with medicines, including blood thinners and diabetes medication.
Asked something we have not answered? Write to us and an actual person writes back, usually the same day, occasionally with too much detail.
Ask us anything
One capsule, thirty days
One bottle, and then not thinking about it.
$26.40 for 30 capsules, every milligram printed on the label, and free US shipping once you spend $50.