I used to carry a Shrade 'hone-steel'. It is a chisel shaped hunk of fairly soft abrasive-impregnated high-nickel steel. Its a bit more aggressive than most kitchen steels. You use it every few minutes when doing heavy cutting to maintain an edge. If you have ever seen a real butcher work you notice that they are always honing the edge between cuts. A honed edge cuts better and if you use a steel frequently there is far less need for actual sharpening. Eventually the steel can't move enough metal to get a fine edge so it need some sharpening.

If I was homesteading or blazing my way through the woods, and was constantly using my main knife, I would feel justified in carrying a steel, perhaps even a small stone, just in case, but my camping and hiking is all short term now and the knife just doesn't get much use before I'm back home where I have a complete rig, actually several, to take care of the blade properly.

I may cut a branch for a walking stick or a pole to hold up the end off a tarp. I may chop up some wild onions and cut some light line to make a clothesline but these are occasional tasks. But it isn't enough wear to worry about.

I've typically got a three blades. A main, usually a folder now, a smaller folder for fine work. And a very sharp spare, sometimes even a scalpel blade or two, in my medical kit. There just isn't a lot of call to do a lot of sharpening.