As you might have suspected, each answer is unique. I tend to buy 100 foot hanks of the delightful orange paracord from countycomm.com.

I'll cut a 100' hank into six 16+' lengths for most uses and then cut one 100' hank into two 50' lengths. Each length is wrapped around my palm and tied off to make a nice little easy-to-handle bundle, though the 50' lengths are a bit harder to handle. I'll usually carry at least 6-12 16+' lengths and the two 50' lengths when out camping.

The 16+' lengths are VERY easy to unravel and by far get the most regular use while camping to tie stuff together, to lash logs, or as storm guys on tents. The 50' lengths are primarily used as clothes lines and for hoisting the flag into a tree.