Sabah’s Most Rugged Slip-On Shoes Borrow a Key Ingredient from Red Wing

Sabah is an outlier in this day and age.

It is a young brand that didn’t invent anything and never claimed to, but found success by introducing a couple of traditional Turkish shoes to a Western audience. Its catalog now includes a cologne, Mediterranean sandals and a boot, but the brand has consistently stayed true to its roots, and it doesn’t spend more on marketing than production.

Sabah

The slip-on, flat-soled Sabah and mule-style Baba have been offered in countless colors and materials, including a few options made in El Paso, Texas, and one with a loafer-style sole, but the product was never watered down as the brand grew exponentially over the past decade.

The owner is the face of the brand through constant social media engagement, and Sabah has leaned on organic marketing from the beginning because people genuinely love the shoes.

Sabah won me over when it introduced a roughout leather with a high nap, or hairy texture, in 2024. I typically stick to loafers and boots when it comes to leather footwear, but the Tabac Rough Out called to me.

Sabah

The dark brown leather retains the naturally fuzzy texture of the cow hide, created by loose fibers. It’s the reverse of the smoother side that typically faces outward, and hasn’t been shaved down or flattened during the tanning process.

I’m a big fan of roughout leather boots, especially my Red Wing Classic Mocs, so the familiar material made it easy for me to try out the traditional Turkish slippers. I went with the Tabac Rough Out Babas because I’m lazy and like to step into my shoes whenever possible.

Give ’em the slip

The first thing that jumped out at me was how light and flexible the shoes felt. Baba’s are built on a single, thick layer of leather, which typically serves as a midsole in most leather shoes but doubles as an outsole here.

Sabah

There is a thin leather insole, but the total width is barely more than a baseball hat brim. Sabahs add a thin rubber outsole for enhanced traction, but offer the same flexibility and featherweight feel.

Footwear comfort is a balancing act between support and flexibility while always minimizing weight. Sabah maxes out flexibility at the expense of support, but the design allows your feet to flex and splay naturally, something you just can’t achieve with sneakers.

Not that rough

My other key takeaway from field-testing the Tabac Rough Out Baba is that, despite the appearance, it uses a very different type of roughout leather from Red Wing. As stated above, Sabah emphasizes flexibility, so a far more supple variation of the fuzzy leather was chosen.

Sabah

Unlike a pair of Classic Mocs or Iron Rangers, Sabahs require no break-in period. The tender roughout exterior and soft leather lining adhere to your foot like a glove from the moment you slip them on.

However, the chocolate brown color, often referred to as tobacco in shoemaking, closely resembles Red Wing’s Chocolate Muleskinner leather from 2025.

Availability and pricing

It didn’t take much time on my feet to add the Tabac Rough Out Baba to my boot and loafer rotation. Despite the thin outsole, the leather is tough enough to be worn outdoors, as Sabah highly encourages, but mine are currently serving as my office slippers.

Sabah’s Tabac Rough Out was introduced in 2024, and a few small batches have been released since, but they always sell out quickly. If a cozy, carefree slip-on shoe with boot-adjacent vibes sounds good to you, I recommend picking up a pair soon.

Sabah

Sabah Tabac Rough Out

• $210 at Sabah

Sabah

Sabah Tabac Rough Out Baba

• $200 at Sabah

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