Surprisingly, I realized that a lot of people actually do not like to carry a cane around probably due to the stigma associated with canes. However, canes play an important role in accepting part of our body weight as to unload the affected side.
It is better to use a cane if you feel that you are putting too much weight onto the other leg. By favouring the use of the other leg, you are forcing the other leg to work much harder and can lead to changes to changes to the overall alignment of the spine.
Furthermore, having a cane is safer, especially if you are in public since most people would be more cautious around you and would probably try to avoid bumping into you accidentally.