Originally posted by atyab 
The lens comes with a lens hood.
I believe the "L" version of the lens (the lightweight, plastic-mount version that comes in the K-x kit) does not come with a hood included. That's what the OP is asking about.
Assuming the "L" version has the same bayonet mount for the hood, you shoud be able to use the same hood that the regular DA 55-300 uses, which is the
PH-RBG hood. Unfortunately, since the 55-300 is a fairly new lens, this accessory isn't widely available. B+H Photo has it, as does the PENTAX web store. Both have it for the same price, $64.
Pentax Webstore Lens Hood PH-RBG 58mm. That's a bit pricey, in my opinion.
One alternative would be to get an aftermarket 58-mm screw-in hood. The only one I see that's long enough for telephoto lenses on the B+H site is
metal, but if that's not a problem for you, it's an affordable solution. The problem with a screw-in hood is that you can't reverse it for storage. You could loosely place it backwards over the end of your capped lens when it's in your bag, though.
The other possibility is to see if a very similar Pentax hood would work instead. The hood for the DA* 55mm (
PH-RBH) is also a 58-mm bayonet hood and it looks to be about the same length as the RBG. And that makes sense, as the short end of the 55-300 is the same as the prime. From the picture on the website (I don't have a real DA* 55mm to compare to), the mount looks identical on both lenses. If the RBH hood would fit on the DA-55-300, I'd get that since it's only $30. It's worth trying, in my opinion.
Enjoy the lens. I have one also and I love it.
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