Question: I plan to build a brick wall, so I need to compact the ground first. The hardware store sells a tool called a tamper, that sells for $60 and only weighs 15 lbs, so it seems inefficient. How is that sufficient weight to pack down the ground? If a worker weighs 200+ lbs, is that more efficient to have them cut on a small square of wood and jump on that? If not, is there some alternative method of stamping the ground down?

Answer: 
You can rent a power compactor which would do a much better job than a hand operated tamper.
if you need to compact the ground before you dig a foundation you definately want to use motorised tools.

probably a whacker/kango type thing

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/m3Atq.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/m3Atq.png)