Stores hère don't carry dynamic rope by the foot. Wish they did. Haven't seen that for years. A shorter 10 mm rope is lighter than a full length one if you need a tougher rope but aren't doing full pitch climbing. Since this was about carrying for general travel a thin rope might be fine and short thin rope very nice, but if you do short rappels or fixed lines on gritty sandstone or sharp shale a thick rope with a thick sheath might also be good. The 9.2 mm shorter pieces on the other links for about $60 looked good for more alpine hiking etc.

Right, you typically must purchase a full length rope, which you then customize by cutting in half. Your buddy is then also equipped. Remember this is the rope you carry when you don't anticipate using a rope. When something technical is anticipated, you get out all the goodies.

For the gear heads, depending on what you want to do with it, there are now a few specialist light weight kit available or coming available from various manufactures:

Edelrid Via Ferreta belay kit: for belaying a second for short sections on a via ferreta.

Mammut Rappel Kit: A combination of 6mm cord, with a tiny figure 8 and small carabiner.

Petzl will be releasing the RAD (Rescue and Descent) System, also using a 6mm cord. (different from the 'PETZL ADVANCED RAD KIT') http://www.thegearcaster.com/2015/01/sneak-peek-climbing-hardware-fall-2015.html