Single bubble dynamics are of fundamental importance for understanding the underlying mechanisms in liquid–vapor transition phenomenon known as cavitation. In the past years, numerous studies were published and results were extrapolated from one technique to another and further on to “real-world” cavitation. In the present paper, we highlight the issues of using various experimental approaches to study the cavitation bubble phenomenon and its effects. We scrutinize the transients bubble generation mechanisms behind tension-based and energy deposition-based techniques and overview the physics behind the bubble production. Four vapor bubble generation methods, which are most commonly used in single bubble research, are directly compared in this study: the pulsed laser technique, a high- and low-voltage spark discharge and the tube arrest method. Important modifications to the experimental techniques are implemented, demonstrating improvement of the bubble production range, control and repeatability. Results are compared to other similar techniques from the literature, and an extensive report on the topic is given in the scope of this work. Simple-to-implement techniques are presented and categorized herein, in order to help with future experimental design. Repeatability and sphericity of the produced bubbles are examined, as well as a comprehensive overview on the subject, listing the bubble production range and highlighting the attributes and limitation for the transient cavitation bubble techniques. Graphic abstract